Ladies headed to State

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
It’s been four years since the Lady Dogies have earned a state tournament berth, but on the backs of freshmen and inexperienced upperclassmen, Newcastle was a force to be reckoned with in the 3A East Regional Tournament last weekend in the Dogie Dome.
Head coach Chad Ostenson’s squad earned the number two seed from the Northeast by just edging out Thermopolis in a three-way tie breaker at the end of the regular season. As such, their first opponent in the opening round on Thursday morning was against Wheatland, who the Lady Dogies had just defeated by two points the previous Saturday.
With back-to-back contests, both teams were very familiar with each other’s games.
“We had a pretty decent plan and the kids executed it extremely well,” Ostenson began. “Shelby [Tidyman] was once again tasked with face guarding Danielle Brow, and Mercedes [Voelker] with Khayla Otero, and both of them did an awesome job at slowing them down.”
Newcastle led 13-12 at the end of the first quarter, but Wheatland rallied in the second to take a 25-23 lead into the locker room. A blistering third quarter by the Dogies where they went on a 21-9 run, led by Voelker who drained three consecutive shots from beyond the arc, gave Newcastle a ten point lead going into the fourth. 
“We were attacking the basket well, either getting to the rack or kicking it out for good perimeter looks,” Ostenson grinned. 
The squad led by as much as 16 in the contest, but no one rolls over at the Regional tournament, and the Lady Bulldogs were as hungry for a shot at the semifinals as Newcastle. As such, Wheatland came roaring back, bringing the game to within two with under two minutes to play. The Lady Dogies remained focused and between clock management tactics and good free throw shooting down the stretch, were able to keep the Lady Bulldogs at bay and end the contest with the 53-50 win.  
“For a bunch of kids who had never been there before, they did a heck of a job maintaining composure,” Ostenson nodded. “We moved the ball well and got to the line and that’s some big stuff at the Regional Tournament. The kids have a calm about them in those situations even though they are young.”
Jaylen Ostenson posted a double double, leading her team with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Voelker finished with a career high 18 points, all of which came from beyond the arc. Ally Cass added eight points to her team’s total, Tidyman pitched in five, MacKenzie Conzelman contributed three points and Claire Beastrom added two to round out the scoring.
The win advanced the Lady Dogies to the semifinal matchup against Rawlins on Friday at 3:00. During the season, the teams were scheduled to play, however closed roads out of Rawlins on the scheduled date and the postponed date kept them from competing. As such, both teams were seeing each other for the first time.
“That we didn’t get a chance to play during the season may have been a factor in the outcome of the semifinal game,” Ostenson mused. “Also having Jaylen in foul trouble early and then fouling out hurt our rebounding which was an advantage to Rawlins.”
It was the first quarter when both teams were feeling each other out that would ultimately be the difference maker in the final score. Rawlins led the Lady Dogies 12-6 heading into the second quarter. However, Newcastle went blow for blow with the number one seed from the Southeast quadrant for the remaining three quarters of the contest, losing 36-42 in the end.
“We were down to a minute left to play and had pulled within two, so it’s hard to fault the kids on the loss,” Ostenson determined. “They worked their tail off, and it was our defense and rebounding that kept us in the game because that was one game where we didn’t shoot the ball overly well.” 
Voelker, who had the hot hand in the other three games the Lady Dogies played over the weekend, didn’t hit a single three. Rawlins watched her drain six from beyond the arc against Wheatland on Thursday so they face guarded her the entire contest effectively limiting her opportunities.
Ostenson led her team once again with 12 points, Tidyman was right behind with 11, Shawnee Miles contributed seven, Conzleman five and Voelker finished with one point. 
The loss, though it wasn’t season ending, put Newcastle in the loser-out contest against Thermopolis at 8:30 on Saturday morning, and this time, their season was on the line.
The Lady Dogies had defeated the Lady Bobcats soundly early in the season in Newcastle, but then lost by six to them in Thermopolis just a couple of weeks ago.
“Even in the locker room, I didn’t get the feeling that the girls were worried about this game,” Ostenson admitted. “Thermopolis is a good basketball team and they were playing well, but the girls had the mindset going into it that they would win.”
The Lady Dogies took very little time in establishing a dominant lead over the Lady Bobcats, as they came out firing on all cylinders. Defensively, they were forcing one-and-done contested shots while draining three-pointers at will on the offensive end. Three different players knocked down threes, including three consecutive makes from beyond the arc by Voelker. 
This perfect storm had Newcastle up 15-0 before Thermopolis was able to get on the board. The Lady Dogies’ established their biggest lead of the contest, 19-2 and finished out the first quarter up 20-9.
“It was a little concerning to me that we were going to shoot all of our threes for the game in the first few minutes,” chuckled Ostenson. “It was fun, but there is always a little bit of a worry that we would be able to maintain that level of play for the next three quarters.”
The Lady Bobcats took momentum in the second quarter outscoring Newcastle by two, and drawing to within nine as they headed into the locker room. However, the two teams were even in the last two quarters of play, despite the fact that Thermopolis cut the lead to one late in the contest.
Down the stretch, the Lady Dogies once again maintained their composure and hit some clutch free throws to build back up to a three possession game as time ticked off the clock, winning by a score of 56-47.
“That was a fun win, and it was a relief to know we had qualified for the state tournament,” smiled Ostenson. “Even when they pulled close, I was never too worried that we wouldn’t get the win.”
Ostenson finished the game with another double double scoring 14 points and pulling down 16 rebounds. Voelker tied for leading scorer throwing in 14 points of her own, Miles contributed 12 to the win, Cass had eight, Tidyman six, and Conzelman hit two big free throws down the stretch for her points of the game. 
The Lady Dogies then had a three-games hiatus before they took on Wheatland for the third time in a week in the third/fourth place contest to determine seeding for the state tournament.
“Both teams were tired and relieved to have punched their tickets, but they still both played hard,” Ostenson nodded. “We shot well again and our defense was once again pretty solid in slowing Brow and Otero down.”
It was yet another battle between these two teams who were so very familiar with each other at this point, but the Lady Dogies got the better of the Lady Bulldogs once again taking the 43-37 victory and the third place trophy at Regionals.
“The atmosphere in the Dome was amazing. It was so loud and it was so fun,” Ostenson grinned. “Those kids and we coaches were just having such a good time, and it’s just so great that all the work the kids have put in is paying off.”
This time Cass led her team with 14 points, and was followed by Voelker with 10. Ostenson chipped in eight, Miles seven and Tidyman and Sara Sweet each added two.
With the win, the Lady Dogies will tip off the state tournament with the 9 a.m. game on Thursday against Lyman who is the number two seed from the west side. With a win, the squad will probably be tasked with taking on Douglas in the semifinals, and a loss would pit them against Pinedale in the consolation bracket. 
Playing in the Event Center is a whole different environment and can be challenging to a perimeter shooting team because there is nothing behind the baskets to help gauge distance. Fortunately, the Lady Dogies play the first game of the day, so they will have a little extra time to shoot and try to adjust to the environment and get an idea what it’s like to play there.
“Lyman is a good, solid team but we match up pretty well with them size wise and age wise,” Ostenson explained. “They have a pretty good post and a guard that is in the top 10, so we match up them pretty well talent wise as well. They may be a little bigger and stronger inside, but athletically we should be able to stay with them.”
In reflecting on the Regional Tournament, Ostenson wanted to take a moment to thank all who made it a great experience.
“I think our community came together so great for the tournament. Dogie fans showed up in droves to support the kids, and I so appreciate that. And what a first class Regional tourney we put on between the facilities, the hospitality room, the concessions, the smoothies, the custodians, the fans, the student section, etc.,” he smiled. “It was a pretty high-class tournament and I was proud of how everyone ran it. It was top notch all the way around, and it was so fun and the kids so enjoyed every moment.”