Ladies split opening weekend

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The southeast corner of Wyoming was the stage for the Lady Dogies as they opened their 2020-21 season on Saturday, and the squad was challenged with two talented opponents eager to show off in front of their home crowd.
The first contest of the day was in Pine Bluffs against the Lady Hornets who missed out on the 2A State title last March by only seven points and entered the season ranked No. 5. It was a hard-fought battle from start to finish with each team trading blows, but Newcastle was able to walk away with a 47-41 win. From there they hopped on the bus and scooted down the road to Burns to take on the Lady Broncs. Unfortunately, the Lady Dogies ran out of gas before the 32 minutes were up and they dropped that game 39-44.
“I thought it was a great weekend to get out and get going,” head coach Chad Ostenson began. “We got to play two really good teams right off the bat which is great to give us an idea of where we’re at.”
The Lady Dogies were a little tight as they took possession to start their season against Pine Bluffs, and as such missed quite a few shots they don’t characteristically miss.
“We couldn’t make anything in that first quarter,” Ostenson laughed. “Shoot, I bet Jaylen [Ostenson] could have had 40 points by the end of it if she had shot in the first two quarters like she did at the end of the game.”
In the second half, the ladies settled in and the nerves relaxed, which Newcastle used to get into an offensive groove, and defensively the squad was all over the Lady Hornets from start to finish.
Ostenson finished the game as the leading scorer, dropping in 23 points. She was followed by Shelby Tidyman who added eight, Tiernan Stanton put in six, Mercedes Voelker finished with five while Hunter McFarland and Shawnee Miles scored three and two points, respectively.
After a quick 20-minute drive down the road to Burns, the Lady Dogies started strong against the Lady Broncs, blazing out to a 14-4 lead, but went ice cold and were unable to score at all in the second quarter. 
At the start of the second half, the squad threw their 1-3-1 half-court trap on Burns which brought back a spark allowing the team to make
a good run, but the ladies ran out of time before the final horn blew and they found themselves just six points shy of victory. 
“Our legs were shot for Burns, and we were about a half a step behind from the beginning and our shots were just a little short of what they usually are,” Ostenson admitted. “But the girls didn’t roll over, and they kept after them so they cut into the lead, which I was really glad to see.” 
Once again, Ostenson was the Lady Dogies’ leading scorer finishing with 20 points, MacKenzie Conzelman was next with eight, Stanton again had six points, Tidyman added two and Claire Beastrom rounded out the scoring with one point.
The full court defensive pressure the Lady Dogies applied all day gave their opponents fits, and the squad demonstrated their up-tempo style of play as well. Against the Lady Hornets, Newcastle forced 32 turnovers, and against Burns, 20, however the Dogies took care of the ball at the same time committing only 10 and 17, respectively.
In addition, Newcastle held both of their opponents to a little over 40 points which Coach Ostenson believes will bode well for his team through the course of the season.
“I feel pretty good about what I saw and what we did, and also got ideas about what we need to work on. We have some pretty good weapons and I think we’re going to be alright,” Ostenson nodded. “Overall it was a great first weekend and it was just really great to be able to get on the court and play. I wasn’t sure we’d be able to until we were out of the bus and on the floor because you just never know anymore.”
This week the Lady Dogies play their home opener on Thursday as they host the Sundance Lady Bulldogs who are currently ranked second in 2A, then travel to Laramie on Saturday to take on the 4A Lady Plainsmen.
“We’ve been wanting to get a 4A school just to see where we stand there,” Ostenson nodded. “It’ll be a good week for us to take on two more quality teams before the Christmas break, and to give us some prep for Douglas and Rawlins.”