Lady Bulldog Cagers Suffer Losses

The Lady Bulldogs suffered three losses on the basketball court this past week. Milbank fell to Madison 66-57, Dell Rapids 60-54, and to Redfield-Doland 41-33.

Milbank 57, Madison 66

Milbank put up a fight, but eventually succumbed to the Madison Bulldogs Tuesday, February 6, in front of their home crowd.

The locals started out on fire and poured in 22 points in the first quarter. Milbank held a 22-14 advantage after one period of play. Madison came back and outscored Milbank in the second quarter, but Milbank remained ahead at 33-32 at the midway mark.

Madison continued to shoot well and widened the gap to 53-43 heading into the final stanza. Milbank’s Lady Bulldogs could not overcome the deficit and fell 66-57.

Four players scored in double figures for Milbank. Gabbi Cummins led the way with 16 points, one rebound, four assists, and two steals. Lindsey Mertens followed with 13 points. Molly Rick notched 11 points, three rebounds, and two steals. Taylor Thue added 10 points, four rebounds, and one assist.

Also adding to the totals for Milbank were: Jaecy Engebretson, five points, three rebounds, and one assist; Shea Hooth, two points and two rebounds; Sophia Seffrood, six rebounds, one steal, and one blocked shot; and LaChasity Finley, one assist.

Milbank hit 19-of-41 from the field for 46 percent shooting. They pulled down 25 rebounds, and made seven assists, five steals, and one blocked shot. They committed 21 turnovers.

Madison made 51 percent of their shots from the field – 23 of 45 attempts. They secured the win with 32 rebounds, 12 steals, eight assists, and six blocked shots. They turned over the ball 14 times.

Milbank 54, Dell Rapids 60

The Lady Bulldogs faced the Dell Rapids Quarriers in the Northeast Conference/Dak 12 Clash in Madison February 3. Milbank dropped 60-54 in the contest.

Milbank’s head coach, Brian Pauli, said, “Dell Rapids has a very athletic and experienced team. I thought we outplayed them for the majority of the game.”

Milbank got out to a solid start with a 21-17 lead after the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs maintained their advantage with a 39-35 lead at the midway mark. The Lady Bulldogs struggled to produce points in the third quarter and scored just five while the Quarriers threw in 12 to take the lead at 47-44 heading into the home stretch. Milbank came back with a good fourth quarter, but fell 60-54.

“This was our best offensive game of the year, by far,” said Coach Pauli. “We battled to the very end, but we weren’t able to make the crucial plays at the very end. Overall, I hope we learned a lot from this game. Also, I hope we gained some confidence shooting the basketball. If we can play like this, we are capable of beating anyone on our schedule.”

Cummins led the way for Milbank with 15 points, three rebounds, and four assists. Seffrood followed with 10 points, eight rebounds, one assist, and one blocked shot. Engebretson tallied eight points, 10 boards, three assists, and one steal. Rick added seven points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Thue and Mertens chipped in with six points each. Thue also had four rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Mertens had two rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Shea Hooth rounded out the totals for Milbank with two points and one assist.

Milbank made 37 percent of their shots from the field – 18 of 49 attempts. The Lady Bulldogs finished the contest with 34 rebounds, 16 assists, five steals, and one blocked shot. They committed 12 turnovers.

Dell Rapids went 21-of-42 from the field for 50 percent shooting. The Quarriers tallied 27 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals, and two blocked shots. They committed 10 turnovers.

Milbank 33, Redfield-Doland 41

Milbank suffered a hard-fought 41-33 loss to Redfield-Doland Friday, February 2, on the road. “This was a frustrating game from the standpoint of not being able to put more points on the scoreboard,” stated Coach Pauli. “Being consistent on offense has been our Achilles heel all year long. It is tough to win when you only score 33 points in a game. We will keep working on fixing the problem.”

The Lady Bulldogs’ struggles began in the opening quarter. They scored just three points and trailed 9-3. Both teams added 10 points to their scores in the second quarter, so Milbank remained behind at 19-13 at the midway mark. The Lady Bulldogs also found themselves behind at 30-20 heading into the final stanza. Milbank outscored Redfield-Doland 13-11 in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough, and they were defeated 41-33.

Cummins led Milbank with 10 points, eight rebounds, four steals, three assists, and two blocked shots. Engebretson and Seffrood each added six points. Rick and Thue contributed five points each. Engebretson snared three rebounds and two steals; Seffrood added five boards, two steals, and one blocked shot; Rick chalked up one rebound and one assist, and Thue was credited with two rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Adding to the totals for Milbank were Hooth, one point and one assist; Mertens, two boards, two assists, and one steal; and Finley, one blocked shot.

Milbank made just 26 percent of their shots from the field – 11 of 42 attempts. The Lady Bulldogs recorded 23 rebounds, 10 steals, nine assists, and four blocked shots. They turned over the ball 11 times.

Redfield-Doland went 14-of-35 from the field for 40 percent shooting. The Pheasants grabbed 31 rebounds and seven steals. They made three assists and one blocked shot and committed 20 turnovers.

Photo – freshman Lindsey Mertens.