Lady Dawgs basketball team push state-ranked Goldthwaite

The Lady Dawgs pounded Johnson City, 54-9, and then followed it with a 51-42 dismantling of Reagan County.  

The next two rounds were less favorable. 

Burnet was upended, 52-34, by host San Saba in the third round and were just edged, 57-52, by Goldthwaite.

“We led No. 4 state-ranked Goldthwaite for 29 of 32 minutes, but the free-throw line and execution breakdowns got us in the final three minutes in the third-place game,” head coach Mike Cavender said. “The kids are playing extremely hard right now and competing right down to the wire with some very talented teams. The kids know the competition they are playing right now will pay off for them down the road.”

Cavender had faced Goldthwaite many times before while coaching at Burnet. Goldthwaite’s relentless defense and transition game posed obstacles. 

After having had enough of losing to them, Cavender chose to change his coaching style.  

“If you can’t beat them, join them,” he said. 

Although he converted several layups, his Lady Dawgs still fell short but made a valiant run.    

“We continue to try and put things together on the fly early in the season, while facing a very difficult schedule,” Cavender said. “We are starting to put more quality minutes together in each game with fewer mistakes.”

Senior Manda Martin and junior Kerstyn Towslee, who led the Lady Dawgs in scoring with 31 and 26 points during four games, were named to the all-tournament team. Other scorers and their totals for four games were Tara Canty with six, Christina Henderson scored four, Mandi Lindley had 18, Brooke Rockafellow dropped in 25, and McKinsey Cozart added 19.   

Also scoring were Callie Smith with seven, Eden Sultemeir scored 18, Jessica Robinson added 16, Stormie Wilfong dropped in two, and Shanise Graeter had 19. Allison McClennen saw action but did not score in the tournament.

The Lady Dawgs reset their predistrict season mark to 3-4.