DECATUR -- The Decatur Lady Bulldogs, coming off of a win and a loss in the Decatur Holiday Hoops Basketball tournament Nov. 26 and 29, squared off against the Fayetteville Haas Hall Lady Mastiffs in the opening game of the 2018-19 2A conference showdown at Peterson Gym in Decatur Dec. 4. The results? The Lady Bulldogs pulled off an impressive win over the Lady Mastiffs by 27 points.
This year Decatur moved back into a reorganized 2A Northwest conference from the 1A in which it played the last two years. Only one school from the old 2A conference from three years ago returned with Decatur, old rival Eureka Springs.
Joining the Lady Bulldogs and Lady Highlanders this season will be a few new schools from Northwest Arkansas -- Fayetteville Haas Hall, Bentonville Haas Hall, and Arkansas Arts Academy -- and a few from the north-central Arkansas -- Flippin, Yellville-Summit and Cotter. Facing most of these new schools will challenge the Lady Bulldogs to explore new ground this season.
The Lady Bulldogs exploded out of the starting block quickly in the Lady Mastiff contest, scoring the first two points of the contest in less than 20 seconds. By the halfway mark in that quarter, Decatur held a six-point lead over the Lady Mastiffs. Decatur managed to maintain that six-point lead going into the start of the second quarter up 16-10.
Decatur continued to grind down Haas Hall with its fast pace and game-plan changes by Coach Fess Thompson. At the break, the Lady Bulldogs increased their lead over the Lady Mastiffs by 10.
Haas Hall was never able to catch up to the Lady Bulldogs in the second half, scoring only two points in the third and 10 in the fourth. By the end of the contest, the Decatur Lady Bulldogs had built a commanding 30-point lead with only a minute left to play. The Lady Mastiffs were able to cut it down by three but that was simply not enough.
The Lady Bulldogs took their first conference victory, 55-28, over the Fayetteville Haas Hall Lady Mastiffs.
Leading scorers for the Lady Bulldogs were Annabelle Schopper with 19 and Sammie Skaggs with 14. Others contributing to the scoring effort included Abby Tilley with nine (all three-pointers), Paige Vann with five, Destiny Mejia and Mayra Flores each with four, and Savanna Dodson with two.
The Lady Bulldogs were on the road Dec. 7 taking on a new adversary, the Cotter Lady Warriors, for the second conference game of the week.
Decatur fell behind quickly in the first half, trailing by eight going into halftime. The Lady Bulldogs tried to get back into the contest during the second half but the Lady Warriors never relented and eventually claimed the conference victory, 64-38, over Decatur.
Continuing to lead the Lady Bulldogs scoring effort was Sammie Skaggs with 15, followed by teammates Paige Vann and Abby Tilley, each with six. Kaylee Morales and Annabelle Schopper each had five, with Destiny Mejia hitting a free throw for one.
Sports on 12/12/2018