Smith County Claims 2 Wins Over Bulldogs

You could not have asked for a more exciting girls basketball game than the one played last Saturday night as the Smith County Lady Owls won a very hard fought game in overtime over the Lady Bulldogs by a final score of 62-57.

The hard part to get over is the fact that the Lady Bulldogs had 3 chances to win in regulation and failed to score a point in overtime.

The Lady Bulldogs managed a 11-6 lead after the first quarter with Cayley Tuck scoring 6 points while Katie Heady knocked down a three pointer and Macy Raines made a 2 point basket. The Lady Owls found their shooting touch in the second quarter and they grabbed a 24-20 halftime lead. Heady had 5 points in the quarter while Kennedy Fleming had 4 points.

Shots started to fall for both teams in the third quarter as the Lady Bulldogs outscored the Lady Owls 19-11 and a 39-35 lead heading to the fourth quarter. The Lady Bulldogs rode the hot hand of Katie Heady who scored 10 second half points and Kennedy Fleming added 8 in the second half. Hailey Davis added a 3 pointer while Cayley Tuck added 10 second points. Shaylee Ellingson and Macy Raines each had 2 second half points.

With 11 seconds on the clock the score was 57 all and the Lady Bulldogs had the ball side court on their end and a chance to win the game but a last second shot bounced off the rim while the Lady Bulldog fans screamed for a foul to be called but no whistle sounded and overtime we go.

The Lady Bulldogs went cold from the field and turned the ball over 3 times and failed to score while the Lady Owls came away with a 62-57 hard fought win.

Scoring totals for the Lady Bulldogs-Heady 18 points-Tuck 16 points-Fleming 12 points-Raines and Ellingson 4 points each-Davis 3 points. Some stats that show just how hard the Lady Bulldogs played-Rebounds-Lady Bulldogs 38-Lady Owls 22-Assists-Lady Bulldogs 13-Lady Owls 1-Points in the paint-Lady Bulldogs 16-Lady Owls 10- but the one stat that hurt the Lady Bulldogs was turnover as the Lady Bulldogs turned the ball over 20 times while the Lady Owls only had 8.That stat told the story.

The boys game was never close as the inability to score points roared its ugly head for the Bulldogs. The Owls led this game 23-8 after the first quarter and that lead was 39-17 at halftime. The Bulldogs were playing hard but turnovers plagued the Bulldogs as they have most of the year. The kids from Smith County play a get it and go style of basketball and that style gets them many easy baskets because it wears teams down. A final score of 67-40 is tough for these kids to swallow.

The Bulldogs scored 17 first half points and 23 second half points and 40 points is not going to win many high school games. The Bulldogs are starting their district games in a few days and they need to figure out how they can improve their offensive output because there are no weak games once you get into district play.

Scoring totals for the Bulldogs-Elijah Byfield 17 points-Mason Hix 7 points-Hunter Kirk 6 points-Jordan Powell 3 points-Matthew Murphy 3 points–Dalton Thompson along with Bryson Cherry each had 2 points.