Sports
Lady Bulldogs Down Wellston In Overtime
By: Nick Komjati
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In TVC-Ohio basketball, no opponent should be overlooked. The Lady Rockets of Wellston suffered a 30 point defeat to the Athens Bulldogs on their home court early in the season, but showed up and gave the Lady Bulldogs all that they could handle at McAfee Gymnasium on Thursday night. The Lady Golden Rockets forced overtime, but eventually fell to the Bulldogs 52-49.
In the first half, both teams played physical basketball and Athens star Dominique Doseck picked up two fouls. Without her on the floor for the closing minutes of the half, Wellston took advantage and carried a 23-21 lead going into the locker room for halftime.
Immediately out of the half, Wellston’s explosive play showed that Coach Scott Sturgill made the right adjustments. The Lady Rockets looked as if they couldn’t miss. They were efficient from three and Athens simply couldn’t seem to counter.
“We’ve got to get better at help side and we’ve got to get better at rebounding,” Coach Wayne Horsely said after the game. “We’re struggling a little bit right now boxing out.”
These defensive woes put Athens in a six-point hole at the end of the third and faced a tough challenge in the fourth quarter to attempt to climb back in the game. With clutch shots by Doseck and Olivia Harris of Athens, they were able to take advantage of Wellston mistakes and use their aggressive play style to extend the game into overtime. While she seemed to be struggling for the majority of the game, Doseck made important plays in crunch time, including hitting free throws in the overtime period, to push her Lady Bulldogs team to victory.
“They presented a challenge for us,” Coach Horsely added. “It’s a challenge that we answered late and fortunately we weren’t down too far and we were able to dig one out.”
The Lady Bulldogs have a five-day break before they take on Logan at home on Tuesday and then take on Nelsonville York in a long awaited rematch. The Wellston Golden Rockets face off against Federal Hocking at home on Saturday and return to their home court on Thursday to play Vinton County.