Lady Bulldogs Struggle to Find the Hoop

The Milbank Area Lady Bulldogs struggled to produce points in its 38-29 loss to Clark-Willow Lake Monday, December 21, in a road contest. The locals drop to 1-3 on the season with the loss.

The teams started off fairly even throughout most of the first half. Milbank Area trailed by one point at 7-6 at the end of the opening period. The Lady Bulldogs kept plugging away but remained behind 16-12 at the midway mark.
Milbank Area came back to outscore the Cyclones in the third quarter and cut the deficit to two points at 22-20 heading into the final stanza. That’s where things began to fall apart. The Lady Bulldogs were outscored 16-9 in the final period to take the loss.

“We have to find a way to score more points,” commented Milbank Area head girls basketball coach Joe Frederiksen. “We did a great job on the defensive side of the ball. Overall I feel our team improves every game. I am excited to see where this team will be at the end of the season.”

Caryssa Mielitz led the Lady Bulldogs with nine points, two rebounds, one steal and four turnovers. Mikaela Hoeke followed with six points and four boards. Mackayla Schuelke tallied five points, six rebounds and two turnovers while Mikayla Street added five points. Rounding out the scoring for Milbank Area were Karlee Mertens, three points, three rebounds and three turnovers, and Molly Rick, one point, five rebounds, one steal and six turnovers. Shelby Hooth contributed two rebounds and Sophia Seffrood, three.

Milbank Area suffered from cold shooting with 20 percent on the night. The Lady Bulldogs made just 10 of 51 attempts and finished with 47 rebounds, two steals and 17 turnovers.

Clark-Willow Lake made 25 percent of its shots from the field, making 12 of 48 attempts. The Cyclones won the game with 39 rebounds, seven steals and 12 turnovers.

Milbank Area will battle Waubay-Summit in the second game of the State Farm-S&D One Stop Basketball Shootout Tuesday, December 29, at the Milbank Armory. Check The Valley Express for a full lineup of games for the event.