Lady Bulldogs pick up first win in 2023 with victory over Prairie

The Lady Bulldogs opened the second half of the basketball season with a win at home on Friday night. The victory over Prairie last week gives the team their second win of the season as girls look to keep improving on the court.

Haxtun opened action at home on Friday night with a commanding first quarter lead, 20-4. The team continued to build on their first quarter success as they added another nine points to the board before half time. The Lady Bulldogs held a 29-9 advantage at the half. After intermission, Haxtun put 16 points on the board in the third and nine in the fourth for a dominating 54-19 win.

"Friday night against Prairie, the girls came out ready to play," said Head Coach Alicia Schram. "You could feel the energy in the locker room and in the gym. Everything clicked for us that night - our inside game was extremely strong and our outside shooting was finally on. We were right at 40 rebounds again and we lowered the number of turnovers. It was fun to see the girls celebrate that team effort."

Two Lady Bulldogs notched double-digits in the scoring department. Junior Cassidy Goddard led Haxtun with 23 points followed by Bobbi Starkebaum with 12. Emily Anderson added eight while Cassidy Goodwin contributed four.

Under the basket, Goddard lead the team in rebounds with 13. She nabbed three on offense and 10 on defense. Starkebaum brought down eight total rebounds followed by Grace Gibson with four and Goodwin with three.

Goddard registered four steals. Gibson and Anderson each tallied three. Gibson, Goddard, Kelsie Hadeen, Heily Avery and Anderson all recorded two assists on the books.

The following night, the Lady Bulldogs traveled to Wiggins for a second match up this season with the Lady Tigers. Despite a 13-point loss on the road on Saturday, Schram said her team is improving each week while showing an immense amount of determination to be better every game.

"Wiggins is a tough team. We found ourselves down by a significant margin at the end of the first quarter, but the girls never gave up," said Schram. "They are the most resilient group of athletes I've even seen. We will continue to grow and build on the things we learned on Saturday."

Anderson and Starkebaum led the Lady Bulldogs in scoring in the 46-33 point loss to the Lady Tigers in Wiggins last week. Both girls put eight points on the board followed by Hadeen with six and Gibson with four.

Starkebaum pulled down 13 rebounds, the team high, followed by Goddard with seven and Goodwin with five. Starkebaum registered three teals while Hadeen led in assists with two.

"We are still focusing on limiting the turnovers. There's a fine line between pushing the ball and rushing it too fast," Schram added. "We are still in that grey area, but we continue to decrease the number of turnovers each game. Control is a big push for us right now. Control of the ball, control of the tempo and control of our emotions on the court. Lou Holtz said it best, 'Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.' We are working hard on all three."

This week the Lady Bulldogs are set to face off with Yuma at home on Saturday night. According to MaxPreps, the Lady Indians are 3-2 overall and on a three game win streaks with recent victories over Highland, Manual and Heritage Christian.

"It's extremely important that we continue to grow and develop in our basic skills. Controlling the ball, taking advantage of situations on the court as they happen and continue to make improvements each game. We look forward to each new week!" Schram said.