DECATUR -- The Lady Bulldogs, under new head coach Ashley Riggles, had reason to celebrate Nov. 9 when they won their first victory of the 2017-18 basketball season against the Hartford Hustlers in Hartford Nov. 9. For the Lady Bulldogs, this win marked the first time the team has posted a season opener victory in over 10 years.
The Lady Bulldogs were ready for this contest. Extra practices throughout the off-season and pre-season, weight room training and practices with the boys' team all contributed to this first victory.
The first half was more of a defensive contest as neither team was able to gain a sizable advantage on offense. The Lady Hustlers managed a meager three-point lead in the first quarter, 5-2. By the end of the second quarter, Hartford managed to hold on to a 13-7 lead over Decatur going into the halftime break.
But Decatur, under the leadership of Paige Vann and Samantha Skaggs, began a 10-4 run on the Lady Hustlers in the third quarter to tie the contest 17 all going into the final quarter of play.
Both the Lady Bulldogs and Lady Hustlers slugged it out during the fourth quarter, trading point for point until the end when a two-point shot by Skaggs sealed the win for Decatur, 31-29.
"The girls played very hard and disciplined for our season opener and I couldn't be more proud of them," said Riggles. "We had 20 steals overall, which is a huge part of our victory. Our outside shots weren't necessarily falling for us, so we switched our game plan up and started pounding it inside."
Leading the scoring for the Lady Bulldogs was Skaggs with 22, followed by Vann with six. Rounding out the score was Abby Tilley with 2 and Deysi Rubi with 1.
"Samantha Skaggs really started to shine once we switched game plans, going 6/15 in the paint and going 10/14 from the free throw line. I can't wait to see how the rest of the season turns out," Riggles said.
The Lady Bulldog junior-high team faced the Fayetteville New School Cougars at home in Peterson Gym in Decatur Nov. 6 in its first basketball contest of the new season. Decatur, facing a six-foot Cougar ninth grader, performed well on defense but struggled on the board. The new school took the contest, 26-10.
The Lady Bulldogs will play their first home game against the Exeter (Mo.) Tigers at Peterson Gym in Decatur Nov. 17. The game starts at 5:30 p.m. They will travel to Gentry to take on the Lady Pioneers in the gym at Gentry High School Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. For more information on the Lady Bulldog basketball program, go to decatursd.com/athletics.
Sports on 11/15/2017