Girl’s Basketball: Chargers run away from Oilers for win

The Midland Dow varsity girl’s basketball team stayed in the hunt for the Saginaw Valley title Thursday, playing solid defense and using a balanced offensive attack to come away from Mount Pleasant with a 46-35 win over the Oilers.

“This was another nice win for this program,” said Dow coach Bob Wellman. “I thought the girls came ready to play and did not want to give a valley game away and everyone did a nice job being ready to go and gave a great team effort.”

The Chargers made a concerted effort to take advantage of its size. And it paid off, as Becca Mills led Dow with 17 points and six rebounds.

While Mills’ points in the paint iced the opposition, it was the play of the Chargers’ guards that dictated the tempo of the game.

“Our guards did a real nice job getting the ball inside to Becca Mills, giving her opportunities to score,” Wellman said. “Taylor Mantyla had another great overall game with rebounding, assists and her defense on Katie Carbee (Mt. Pleasant’s leader).”

Mantyla had eight points, six rebounds, six assists, and three steals for Dow, while Leah Kebler had nine points.

“This win kept us in a position to stay one game back from Arthur Hill in the Valley,” Wellman said. “And it gave us some confidence that will hopefully carry on to the next two weeks and tournament time.”

Dow’s record improved to 14-3. They return to action Tuesday when they host Midland High. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.