Ladies hit some bumps

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The Lady Dogies Basketball squad has been struggling with growing pains so far this season, and those continued last weekend as the team traveled far and wide to take on Burns on Friday followed by Rawlins on Saturday.
The contest against the Lady Broncs was particularly painful given Newcastle narrowly missed claiming their first victory of the season in a heartbreaking 35-39 loss.
“It was so close and it was one we should have had,” head coach Chad Ostenson sighed. “We did a lot of good things, but we still had way too many turnovers. But we had our chances, and I guess that’s the only thing we can ask for at this point.”
Senior Kaylee Sweet had a breakout game for the Lady Dogies, going five of six from the charity stripe to lead her team with nine points, nine rebounds, two assists and three steals. Ostenson noted that her performance was one he would like his whole team to emulate.
“Kaylee worked so hard, and had probably the best game of her career so far,” he nodded. “She hustled all over the place, was going after loose balls and was just solid in all aspects of the game. I think when we can get that out of everyone, all on one night, we have a shot at playing with most teams.”
The two teams were even at eight points each as the first quarter came to a close, but the Lady Broncs outscored Newcastle by five in the second. Though the Lady Dogies commanded the third quarter, that five point deficit was something that the squad was unable to overcome.
Ostenson noted that he was pleased to see his team’s performance on the boards improve from last weekend. However, he admitted that turnovers and struggling to finish on offense are still areas in which the ladies need to improve.
“We did a better job rebounding on both the offensive and defensive ends,” he began. “It can be tough to get a body on someone when you are playing a zone defense, but you could see that when a shot went up, we were finding people to box out much better than we had been.”
Another disadvantage Ostenson identified as contributing to the loss was the simple fact that the Lady Dogies hadn’t been in a game situation yet this season where they were in a position to come out on top. Having the confidence of knowing how to win when time is running down in a tight game is something that has to be learned, and the coach admitted his squad needs to gain experience with that kind of situation.
There was little time to recover from the loss as the team headed out early on Saturday for Rawlins knowing the challenge that lay ahead. The Lady Outlaws are a formidable opponent who are currently ranked number five in the state for 3A.
“There was no question why they are ranked,” Ostenson admitted. “They do a lot of good things across the board, and they’ve got a lot of pieces that make them a good team.”
Newcastle started the contest a little sluggish, falling into a 4-18 deficit by the end of the first quarter of play. More aggressive defense on the part of the Lady Dogies in the second frame resulted in the team turning the tables and out-scoring the Lady Outlaws by one. 
Though still down 13 heading into the locker room, Newcastle finished the first half on a high note. However, as play resumed Rawlins dealt a devastating blow by draining in 29 points to the Lady Dogies’ three, which put the game out of reach by the end of the third quarter. 
“You could tell we were road tired after Friday night, and when you dig a hole like that, it’s just tough,” Ostenson frowned. “We tried to build on not caring about the score at the half, but we came out in the third and ran into a buzz saw. They knocked down threes and we looked at the scoreboard a couple of times and I think that just took the wind out of our sails.”
When the final buzzer sounded, Rawlins held a 67-17 point lead over the Lady Dogies.
Despite the disappointment of Saturday night, Ostenson emphasized that he still believes his team is making progress toward their goals. 
“Everything we’ve done so far I think we’re taking to heart and are learning,” he stated. “It’s a process, and I really think we are still on the right track to be productive, and that we are improving for the Regional tournament.” 
The Lady Dogies are on the road to Thermopolis this Friday, and then will host Buffalo on Saturday. 
“Thermop should be one we can battle with, but we’re going to need to have everyone working hard like Kaylee was in Burns last Friday,” Ostenson predicted. “It’s a game that if we work and have the effort out of everybody, we’ll be right in it. Buffalo will be tough as usual, and will be a good test for us and one we’ll learn some good lessons from as well.”