The Lady Bulldogs were looking to get back on track after a loss to Ozark on Monday that put their record at 1-3. Coach Atchley stepped in for Coach Adams, who has been sick, to coach the Dogs. Despite the coaching change, the Lady Dogs were still able to come out and play their best game of the season.
From the opening tip Senior, Hailey Stidman was in control of the game. She was unstoppable in the paint and grabbed every rebound. She opened the scoring for the Dogs with a nice post move which led to an easy layup. The Dogs played great defense and forced the Rattlers into tough shots. Sophomore, Rheagan Adams played with great energy as she was relentless with her on-ball pressure. Stidman added another lay-in and a couple of free throws to end the quarter with the Dogs up 8-7.
Sophomore, Daileigh Hunt started the 2nd quarter with a putback layup to give the Dogs a 10-9 advantage. Then Senior Hailey Stidman would take over the game as she went on a 6-0 by herself which included an array of post moves. With the Rattlers on their heels, Senior, Bianca Hinojosa would nail a 3-point jumper to extend the lead to 19-9. After a layup by Stidman, the Rattlers would make a 3-pointer as time expired to make the score at halftime 23-14, advantage Waldron.
The third quarter was all Waldron. The Dogs would only allow two points in the whole period. Senior, Molly Richmond was able to finish two and one opportunities and converted a couple of attempts from the charity stripe. Hunt added a 3 pointer in the 3rd quarter as well, and Stidman was able to get a floater to fall. At the end of the 3rd quarter the Dogs were up 35-16.
Waldron began to substitute some younger players into the game at the start of the 4th quarter. Although they played hard, they just could not get any shots to fall and allowed the Rattlers to get back within 6 points. This prompted Coach Atchley to bring the starters back into the game. The starters were able to crush the Rattler’s hope of a comeback as Stidman again showed off a flashy post-move to improve the Waldron led to 39-31. Senior Summer Imperiali added a short jumper in the closing seconds to make the final score 41-33 in favor of the Bulldogs.
Stidman finished the night with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Richmond had 9 points and 10 rebounds.
Coach Atchley had this to say about how his team played, “I am proud of their effort. Some leaders on the squad demanded effort, and man they played so stinking hard!”
The Bulldogs will travel to Dequeen on Friday, November 19 to take on the Leopards. The JV girls will kick off play at 5:00 followed by JV boys, Senior Girls, and Senior Boys.
