Lady Bulldogs climb to third place

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS Lady Bulldogs Sammie Skaggs (center) puts up a shot from the top of the key as Kate Terminella (Haas Hall 20) tries to block during the fourth quarter of the Haas Hall-Decatur conference basketball contest in the gym at Fayetteville Christian Jan. 29. Skaggs had nine points, including five of six free throws.
Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS Lady Bulldogs Sammie Skaggs (center) puts up a shot from the top of the key as Kate Terminella (Haas Hall 20) tries to block during the fourth quarter of the Haas Hall-Decatur conference basketball contest in the gym at Fayetteville Christian Jan. 29. Skaggs had nine points, including five of six free throws.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Decatur Lady Bulldogs, having one of their best seasons in over 10 years, continued their march to the district and regional playoffs with a pair of victories over the Haas Hall Lady Mastiffs Jan. 29 and the Flippin Lady Bobcats Feb. 1.

The Lady Bulldogs traveled to the gym at Fayetteville Christian Academy in Fayetteville, taking on Haas Hall in the first 2A Region 1 conference contest of the week.

The Lady Bulldogs quickly took control of the contest, outscoring the Lady Mastiffs, 28-16, in the first half and taking a 12-point lead into the halftime break.

Decatur extended its lead to 20 while holding Haas Hall's offense to single digits it the second half, claiming its fifth conference victory, 48-28.

Leading the scoring drive for the Lady Bulldogs were Abby Tilley and Paige Vann, each with 10, followed by Sammie Skaggs with nine and Annabelle Schopper with seven. Rounding out the Decatur scoring effort was Kaylee Morales with four. Desi Meek, Destiny Mejia, Mayra Flores and Savanna Dodson scored two points each.

The Decatur Lady Bulldogs traveled to Flippin Feb. 1 for the final conference contest of the 2018-19 regular season against the Flippin Lady Bobcats in the Flippin High School gym. The Lady Bulldogs took to the road without the service of Desi Meek, who was attending a high school track meet at the University of Arkansas' indoor track facility in Fayetteville.

The game started slowly, with neither team able to do much with its offense in the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs did manage to move ahead of the Lady Bobcats by one going into the next quarter. Decatur held Flippin to a single field goal in the second quarter, while extending the lead to eight by the end of the first half.

Flippin fought back in the third quarter, outscoring Decatur, 17-8, to tie the game at 24 each going into the final eight minutes of the contest.

Sammie Skaggs led the way in the fourth quarter for the Lady Bulldogs, hitting 11 of 13 from the free-throw line and a field goal, steering the Decatur Lady Bulldogs to their sixth conference win, 43-38, over the Flippin Lady Bobcats.

Leading the way for the Lady Bulldogs was Sammie Skaggs with 16. Abby Tilley was also in double figures with a trio of three-pointers and a field goal for 11. Others aiding in the scoring effort were Destiny Mejia with eight, Paige Vann with three, Kaylee Morales and Annabelle Schopper each with two.

The Lady Bulldogs retained third place in the 2A Region 1 conference behind the Cotter Lady Warriors, who moved back into first place, and the Eureka Springs Lady Highlanders. With the regular conference season complete, the Lady Bulldogs will play as the number three seed in the district playoffs hosted by the Yellville-Summit Lady Panthers in Yellville. Decatur will square off against the sixth-seed Haas Hall Lady Mastiffs Feb. 11 at 4 p.m. Decatur must win this contest to advance to the next round of the district tournament and get an automatic berth in the regional playoffs in Danville Feb. 20-21.

The Bulldogs close out their 2018-19 regular season with a nonconference contest with the Life Way Warriors at Peterson Gym in Decatur Feb. 5. Game time is 6 p.m.

Sports on 02/06/2019