Girl’s Basketball: Chargers trample Wolves

by Cory Butzin

After suffering a tough loss Friday to Arthur Hill, the Midland Dow girl’s varsity basketball team was anxious to get some redemption.

They found it at the expense of Bay City Central.

The Chargers suffered through a few cold spells offensively, but used a shutdown defense to build an early lead and cruise to a 56-29 win over the Wolves at H.H. Dow High School.

“We had to get ourselves back on the winning track,” said Dow coach Bob Wellman. “We lose an Arthur Hill game that we thought we had a chance to take. We were down a little bit, but we came back.”

The Chargers used a ferocious press to force early turnovers, opening the game with an 8-0 run. Dow went cold from the floor towards the end of the quarter, but were still able to build a 19-7 lead.

The second saw the Chargers heat up offensively with a 12-3 run to open the quarter, but again went cold late to take a 34-13 lead into the half.

“That’s a concern,” Wellman said. “Those cold spurts are going to hurt us in big games. We were fortunate Bay City Central struggled offensively, and they didn’t really break into that lead.”

Dow continued to control the tempo of the game in the second half. Their defensive tenacity and pressure continued to disrupt Central’s offense, holding the Wolves to only three third quarter points.

“Our defense is the key,” Wellman said. “We have to play good defense in order to get our offense going, and I think we did that.”

The Chargers took a 50-16 lead into the final period, where they struggled offensively, but were able to coast on for the win.

“We gave up some second-chance shots in the latter part of the ballgame but that’s just being fatigued and having different people on the floor,” Wellman said. “Hopefully we can learn a little from this that we have to play solid on both ends of the floor and get ready for Mount Pleasant on Thursday.”

Leah Kebler led Dow offensively with 13 points, while Jessica Thorington had nine.

The Chargers’ record improves to 13-3 overall and 7-1 in league play. They play the Oilers Thursday at Mount Pleasant. Game time is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.