Lady dog Areli Ponce #14 puts back a rebound for two of her 15 points in the loss to Chaparral on Thursday in the Dawg House
Photo by Lou Martin
The Virgin Valley High School Lady Bulldogs defeated the Sky Points Eagles on Tuesday February 12 46-25 but were upset on Thursday Feb 14 40-39 by Chaparral High School. It was a bitter sweet loss for the Dawgs as they prepare for the 3A Southern Conference playoffs. The game honored cancer survivors and graduating seniors in the team’s last home game of the season.
Alexis Boatright led the Dawgs in the win over Sky Points with 16 points followed by Kate Baltazar and Melodie Martinez with 8 and 7 points respectively. The Lady Dogs led 13-11 after one period before crushing the Eagles 28-4 in the second and third periods. The win gave the Dawgs a 5-4 3A record going into the final regular season game against Chaparral.
The first half of the Cowboys game was sloppily played as each squad made numerous mistakes. The Dawgs trailed after one period by a score of 10-6. The Bulldogs rallied behind Areli Ponce to take the lead at 18-17 with one minute remaining in the first half, but gave up four quick points to the Cowboys to trail 21-18 at the break. The Bulldogs came out cold for the third period managing only two points in the first three minutes falling behind 32-20. A quick timeout by Bulldog coach Chimane Creer righted the ship as the Dogs outscored the Cowboys 7-2 to finish the period trailing 34-27. A three-ball from Ponce to start the last period brought a huge roar from the large Bulldog fans. Boatright added two pints followed by two more from Ponce and a long three from Boatright making the score 38-37 in favor of the Cowboys. Boatright’s two in the paint gave the Dawgs a 39-38 advantage with seconds remaining. The Cowboys responded by pushing the ball up court forcing a Bulldog foul with 2.1 seconds remaining in the game. The Cowboy shooter hit the first of two shots to tie the game 39-39. Coach Creer called timeout in hopes of icing the shooter and forcing overtime. The ploy did not work as the shooter hit the point and ended the game. Ponce led the Dawgs with 15 points followed by Boatright with 13 points. The Dawgs will travel to Pahrump to face the Sunset Divisions top team, the Pahrump Trojans on Tuesday in the first round of the playoffs.
