Lady Bucs Show Heart in Victory
The Lady Bucs traveled to Bottineau to play the Lady Lumberjacks on Thursday and had to show some heart. Lucia Godoy connected on the first three-point attempt of the game for the Lady Bucs, but the Lady Bucs missed the next 27 three-point attempts for the half, ending the half 1-28 on threes. The Bucs defense kept the team within striking distance the rest of the half, and Tailee Bird's toughness on both ends lit a spark in the Lady Bucs. The Lady Bucs went into halftime trailing 31-19, but feeling that they did not play terrible basketball.
The Lady Bucs got down by 17 points with about 8 minutes left in the third quarter, and that's when Lucia Godoy was reinserted into the lineup. Behind a suffocating press led by Jana Llobera, who finished with 6 steals and 7 assists, Godoy got hot from behind the arc. Godoy had 15 points in the third quarter including 3 three-pointers. The Bucs took the lead with 2:35 left in the third, but Jersey Vogel came down and hit a three to put the Jacks back in front. However, in transition, freshman guard Mykal Anderson hit a three to immediately put the Lady Bucs in front for good. It was then Jazmine Half time. Half drilled a three at the end of the third quarter, and then started the fourth with two consecutive three-pointers to put the Lady Bucs up 8 points.
The Lady Bucs never trailed again, as Taylor Evans did a great job of face-guarding the Jacks best player, Jersey Vogel. Evans and Hannah McDonald both fouled out and starter Julia Aragon was lost early in the first to injury, so the entire bench had to step up. Tailee Bird had her best performance of the year finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Lecita Sheriffs gave huge minutes to support the interior defense, as well. Lucia Godoy overcame a first half where she struggled to finish with 20 points and four made three-pointers. Hannah McDonald had 15 points and 7 rebounds from the point guard spot. Jazmine Half had 13 big second half points and 6 rebounds. Taylor Evans did not score, but her leadership and defensive effort led the Lady Bucs on that end. Jana Llobera, the Lady Bucs leader on offense, finished with two points but also had 6 rebounds and a career high 7 assists. The Bucs combatted poor shooting by only turning the ball over 11 times. Coach Todd said, "We were the more talented team, but we would have lost that game by 30 a month ago. The growth of this team mentally and their ability to stay together and believe in what we are doing was very evident. It is a tough place to play, and we saw a lot of leaders emerge when it wasn't going well. We are very excited for Sunday."
This win puts the Lady Bucs in second place in conference with a 4-2 record. The Lady Bucs face Miles Community College on Sunday, February 1. This is hall of fame weekend at Dawson. Come out early and support the Lady Bucs in a huge contest.
