Lady Dawgs win their season opener
“It was a good outing for our first contest of the new season,” said head coach Mike Cavender. “Our fast style of play and our pressure defense was the difference in the game. We got out and ran our break lanes, which created several easy opportunities for us to score.”
Burnet led, 16-15, at the first break and 35-29 at halftime. The Lady Dawgs maintained their lead with a 17-14 third-quarter run, but Gatesville stormed back in the fourth period and outscored Burnet, 16-13, but fell six points short.
“The game was very close throughout, and we kept coming up with big play after big play to keep our lead,” Cavender said. “Every time Gatesville would make a run at us to close the gap on the scoreboard, we would respond with a run of our own to extend the lead.”
Overall, Cavender was pleased with the opening performance of his players.
“Our team defense on the ball was very good,” he said. “Shanise Graeter, Brooke Rockafellow, Kerstyn Towslee and Tara Canty looked very good on defense. McKinsey Cozart never had a chance to get into the game because of foul trouble but athletically was tough in all areas when she was on the floor.
“We still have plenty of work to do to continue to improve as we go through the season,” he added. “If we had a weakness, it was on the boards. Gatesville got the better of us in that area, but not enough to beat us. Our newcomer Jessica Robinson at the post had a very good second half after getting over the first-half jitters. Some of the areas we have been trying to improve on in these early practices have been shot selection, decision-making and on-the-ball defense. All three of these areas were much improved from last season.”
Offensively, the Lady Dawgs were led by newcomer Brooke Rockafellow with 15 points. The 5-foot 7-inch junior guard with amazing moves will be a player to watch this season. Graeter, the dribble-drive guard and a long-range threat, dropped in 14 points. Junior Kerstyn Towslee added 13.
Robinson connected for six points while Christina Henderson had five. They were followed by Canty and Cozart with four points apiece and Callie Smith with two.
Other members of the squad include Heather Scoggins, Casi Ritchie, Alison McClennen, Stormie Wilfong and Paige Walker, who is recovering from a leg injury. Also joining the team from a historic volleyball season were Manda Martin, Mandi Lindley and Eden Sultemeir, who figure to be impact players. The team managers are Kelsea Smith and Kayla Oram.
The Lady Dawgs are at Cedar Park High School Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest and bus to Killeen High Tuesday for another pre-district game.