Ladies close out with a ‘W’

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The Lady Dogies nabbed a big win over Wheatland on the Lady Bulldogs’ home court last Saturday, and after losses against Douglas and Thermopolis the two days prior, head coach Chad Ostenson was very pleased to see his team rebound to get the win to close out their regular season of play.
“I was really proud of how the girls responded in Wheatland,” Ostenson began. “After losing to them by 28 a month ago, and as it was our third game in as many days, the girls played pretty well.”
The outcome of the contest carried a great deal of significance for the Lady Dogies. In addition to finishing strong, the squad got the advantage of playing on the Regional court just days before the tournament begins, and got practice against the team they will be playing in the first round.
“It was great for us to get to play there right before Regionals,” Ostenson nodded. “We thought maybe we’d be seeing Torrington first round, but it turns out we will be playing Wheatland, so it was nice to get to see what works against them as we prepare for Thursday.”
While it’s possible that the Lady Dogies’ win may negatively impact the outcome of the first round contest as it gave the Lady Bulldogs a look at their improved level of play, the confidence it provided for the players is definitely a positive.
Newcastle started out a little slow on Saturday, but came back to lead the Lady Bulldogs at the end of each quarter except the second. The contest was a tight, back-and-forth affair, but the Lady Dogies persevered to take the 36-34 victory.
“We hit some timely shots and played pretty good defense throughout the game,” Ostenson stated. “We held their best player (Brow) to eight points, and only two in the second half.”
Lexus Voelker was charged with the task of guarding Danielle Brow, and got the better of her in that matchup.
“Lex played solid defense on her, and it’s nice because we can match speed with anyone in the conference with Lex because she’s quick,” Ostenson declared. “Even though she was tired in that game, she frustrated Brow all night and also did great things for us offensively.”
Voelker not only had a good night, but she also had the best weekend of her career as a Lady Dogie. She filled up every stat line in each night of play, and had her first double-double as a varsity player against Thermopolis.
“She played nearly every minute of every game last weekend and she handled it great,” Ostenson exclaimed. “She is doing some really good things right now, and she’s stepping up to be the leader she needs to be at this point of the season.”
Two days prior to the contest in Wheatland, the Lady Dogies hosted the Lady Bobcats of Thermopolis in a make-up game from last Friday. Newcastle picked up their first win of the season when they defeated them one month ago, so Ostenson was hoping to see a similar outcome in this matchup. 
Unfortunately, that was not to be as the Bobcats showed up determined to even the score. By the end of the first quarter, Newcastle found themselves in a deficit they were never able to overcome.
“Things just went really right for them, and players that didn’t really do anything last time, hurt us this time,” Ostenson explained. “We got in a hole and then clawed back to within four with six minutes to play. Unfortunately, after we had spent what we had to get back into the game, and then they hit two big threes, it was a big momentum killer.”
The Lady Bobcats went on to take the 47-32 win. Voelker did what she could to give the Lady Dogies the upper hand by scoring 19 points, and pulling down 10 rebounds. She also had one assist, four steals and one block. 
In their last home game of the year, Newcastle hosted the number-one ranked Douglas Lady Bearcats. In their last go-around, the Lady Cats ran over the Newcastle by a score of 80-8. Though Friday night’s contest ended with Douglas once again owning the Lady Dogies, the home team was much improved as they scored 22 points against the powerhouse, and had more points at the half than they accumulated in the entire contest previously. 
“Douglas is Douglas. They are a loaded team, their inside-out game is impressive, they share the ball well, and their defense is suffocating,” Ostenson stated. “But 22-76 is a lot better than 8-80, and I guarantee that game helped us immensely on Saturday.”
With the regular season in the books, Ostenson feels good about where his team is as they head into the 3A East Regional Tournament on Thursday morning.
“The bracket shook out to be as favorable for us as we could hope,” Ostenson declared. “The three teams we are likely to see in order to go to state are the three teams we have beaten this year, so that gives us confidence going in.”
Ostenson also admitted that nothing can be taken for granted in post-season play because tournament time is a whole different beast, and everyone comes to play. However, there always seems to be an upset, so he’s hoping the Lady Dogies will be that team this year.
The Lady Dogies will tip off the tournament with the first game at 8:30 a.m. against the Wheatland Lady Bulldogs, and they will be followed by the Dogies who will face off against the Torrington Trailblazers at 10 a.m.
Games will be broadcast on both the NFHS Network (pay-per-view) and on KASL.