Lady Bulldogs outlast Cardinals

Monday evening had the Lady Cardinals traveling to Swanton for a non-league game with the Lady Bulldogs. The evening started very slowly for the Lady Cardinals, as they sputtered offensively going 0-11 from the field. But the Lady Hoopsters were are to penetrate the Swanton defense and got to the charity stripe 8 times, converting on 4. Despite the lackluster play offensively, and breakdowns defensively, the Lady Cardinals found themselves down only 6-4 after one quarter. The Lady Cardinals outside shooting woes continued, but they were attacking the Lady Bulldogs defense and were able to get to the foul line, converting on 6-10 from the stripe. With a better effort at the defensive end the Lady Cardinals were able to outscore their opponent 12-5 in the second quarter to take a 16-11 halftime lead. After the break the Lady Cardinals came out flat and the Lady Bulldogs capitalized on the sluggish play. After playing the first half by taking care of the basketball, the Lady Cardinals had trouble handling the Lady Bulldogs defensive pressure and turned the ball over numerous times, the Lady Bulldogs took advantage of these mistakes and rebounded with a 17-6 third quarter and held a 28-22 lead. Things went from bad to worse as the Lady Bulldogs found a new confidence in their ability to knock down field goal attempts and doubled up the Lady Cardinals 20-10 in the fourth stanza, on their way to a 48-32 victory over the Lady Cardinals. The Lady Cardinals only managed 4 field goals (8 points) and 2 3-point goals (6 points) for the game, and converted on 18-30 free throw attempts. The Lady Cardinals were paced by Junior Abby Mass, who converted 10-11 free throw attempts, for 14 points. Junior Hannah Tucker provided 6 points on two 3-point goals in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Caty Rieker contributed 5 points, Junior Alex Veres 3 points, Senior Ally Niehaus and Freshman Cecelia Gozdowski chipped in 2 each to round out the Lady Cardinal scoring. The Lady Cardinals look to rebound Thursday evening at home with a TAAC battle against neighborhood rival Northwood @ 7:30. The Lady Cardinals would love your support against the Lady Rangers!!!