Lady Bulldogs go 2-2 in opening weekend

The Lovell Lady Bulldog basketball team made the long haul to Lyman/Mountain View to begin their 2023-2024 season at the Bridger Valley Tournament.
The Lady Bulldogs finished the weekend 2-2 with a pair of wins over Little Snake River and Rich County, Utah, while conference foes Lyman and Mountain View handed them their first losses.
After a slow first half in the opening game against Little Snake River on Friday, the Lady Bulldogs found themselves down 30-27 heading into halftime before finding their rhythm and scoring 17 points in both the third and fourth quarters to claim the victory, 61-50.
“We need to be mentally better coming out of the locker room,” head coach Chris Edwards mentioned about the slow start. “It forced us to exert a lot of energy to fight back to get into games. Our warm-ups need to be more intense so our bodies are ready to play from the tip.”
Senior Summer Teter led the way offensively, scoring 19 points and grabbing four rebounds. Libby Mickelson finished with a solid double-double, pouring in 16 points and snagging 12 rebounds.
Kennadee Owens and Kenadee Rael each added 8 points. Breeah Jones scored 6 and had 11 rebounds, while Raegan May finished with 4 points.
In game two, the Lady Bulldogs knew they would need to play more physical and a higher quality game against the Lyman Lady Eagles. Lovell battled hard and made a push late in the fourth quarter before falling 56-45 to the home team.
“Unfortunately, Lyman’s half-court offense with their cutting actions and set plays got them high percentage looks, and we were a little slow mentally with decisions on defense that gave them the momentum and confidence they needed,” Coach Edwards said of Lyman. “We match up better with them than the 11-point score reflected.”
Teter had another solid performance, putting 16 points on the board. Owens also battled to score 12 of her own while Jones and Keyanna Walker added 4 each, May 3 and Rael, Mickelson and Krysta McIntosh 2 apiece.
On Saturday morning, the Lady Bulldogs bounced back and took care of business against the out-of-state opponent from Rich County, Utah. Lovell again found themselves down 24-22 at the half before a strong third quarter propelled the team to a 51-42 tally in the win column.
“I was proud of how we responded against Rich County on Saturday, considering they beat Lyman handily on Friday,” Edwards noted. “We valued the ball better on Saturday and minimized our turnovers, which led to better overall offensive efficiency.”
May and Teter came out on top with 11 points each, and Mickelson finished just behind them with 10 of her own. Rael added 8, Jones 6 and Owens 5.
Heading into their fourth game in two days, the Lady Bulldogs ran out of steam against the Mountain View Lady Buffalos and fell in a 56-43 defeat.
“Similar to the Lyman game, we had some point blank looks at the rim and jumpers that didn’t fall that changed the momentum,” Edwards said of the battle against Mountain View. “We fought back and got within four points in the fourth quarter before we had some missed defensive rotations that led to a trio of three-pointers down the stretch to extend the lead again.”
Lovell shared the ball and had a balanced offensive performance with Owens and Teter finishing with 8 points each. Mickelson added 7, Walker 6, Jones 5, May 4, McIntosh 3 and Becca Nichols 2.
Edwards feels optimistic about the season and believes that the tournament has started them on the right path.
“Overall, we had moments where we played good basketball and shared the ball well to find high quality shots. We still had times where we were inconsistent on defense that we will continue to work on,” he said. “We walked away with confidence that we can compete with them down the stretch when it matters most.
“If we can continue to have multiple girls rebounding, that should lead to success come conference time. As a unit, we shot well from the free throw line and were able to score inside and out because our post players, particularly Mickelson and Owens, did a good job of passing out of the post to our perimeter shooters.”
The Lovell JV squad fared well on the weekend, going 2-1. The Lady Bulldogs beat Lyman 34-15 on Friday, fell to Rich County on Saturday morning 40-30 and regrouped to beat Mountain View 30-16 on Saturday afternoon.
Up next
The Lady Bulldogs will now head to Douglas to compete in the East-West Classic on Friday and Saturday. They’ll open up the tournament on Friday by facing the Douglas Lady Bobcats at 7 p.m., followed by Pine Bluffs at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Wheatland at 1:30 p.m.
“Facing Douglas is always a daunting task,” Edwards said. “We will focus on taking care of the ball and matching their intensity and tempo, which will be a good test for us.
“Pine Bluffs and Wheatland are quality opponents on Saturday, and we will need to play solid for four quarters each game to be successful.”
On Friday evening, senior Madison Wolvington sustained a shoulder injury that will force the Lady Bulldogs to adjust starting lineups and rotations, which will present opportunities and needs for girls to step up and better themselves for the rest of the year.
The JV is scheduled to play Douglas at 5:30 p.m. on Friday evening, Wheatland at noon on Saturday and Pine Bluffs Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
Lovell will have a quick turnaround to face Rocky Mountain High School in Cowley on Tuesday with the JV tip-off at 4 p.m. and varsity following at 5:30 p.m.