PENDLETON — After defeating Liberty Christian to get to its first Madison County tournament final in a decade, the Lapel girls basketball team wasn’t satisfied with just getting to the finals, Bulldogs’ coach Zach Newby said; it wanted to win.
While the Bulldogs put on a valiant performance, they fell short of the ultimate goal and lost to Anderson 68-53.
Despite the numbers, the game wasn’t nearly as lopsided as the final score suggests.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
“The result isn’t what we wanted, but the way that we played was exactly what we asked for,” Newby said. “We knew it would come down to makes and misses.”
Newby said his team shot better from the field against Anderson than it did in the win against Liberty Christian in the semifinals.
The Indians came with a loaded arsenal of shooters in Staisha Hamilton, Tyra Ford and Erin Martin, but the Dawgs had their own offensive weapons in Morgan Knepp, Delany Peoples and Lily Daniels.
From the tipoff, the Indians ripped the nets, going on a 12-3 opening run, but Lapel found a way around the Tribe press and had closed the gap to 14-11 by the end of the first period.
After the Bulldogs made it 14-13, the momentum shifted again to the Indians, and they went on another run of 15-0 broken by Knepp at the free-throw line with 2:22 remaining in the half.
Down 35-17 when the second half opened, the Bulldogs took advantage of Anderson turnovers, going on their own 8-0 run to close the third quarter down just 9 points.
But in the final eight minutes of play, Lapel was unable to get any closer.
Defensively, the Bulldogs kept the game in check through much of the first half.
Kylie Rich shadowed Anderson’s Hamilton and held her to only 10 points until well into the third quarter.
Rich had five steals to her credit.
“Kylie did an amazing job chasing her all over the place. She did exactly what I asked, and so did everyone else,” Newby said.
Hamilton ended the game on a scoring run herself, finishing the game with 20.
“She hit tough shots, and we can’t control whether they make them. We can just play defense, and that’s what it takes,” Newby said.
The physicality from both teams sent two Bulldogs to the bench briefly to tend to bloody wounds.
Peoples had a cut on her knee, and Paige Rich took a blow to the mouth.
“That’s what happens when you play that hard,” said Newby.
Both Knepp’s and Peoples’ second-half performances kept Lapel in the mix. Knepp ended with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Peoples had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
“We play for each other and leave it all out here. Anderson just played really well,” Newby said. “I told them if they play that hard all the time, we’re going to be tough to beat.”
Lapel’s appearance in the final came by virtue of defeats of Liberty Christian 36-25 and Anderson Prep Academy 66-27.
Those two wins marked the third game in a row the Bulldogs held opponents to less than 30 points.
The Bulldogs (11-6)travel to Shenandoah today, Jan. 10, and play host to Pendleton Heights Tuesday, Jan. 15.
