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DODGE CITY —
Just call them the “Comeback Kids.”
For the Dodge City High Lady Demons, falling behind early and roaring back to life in the second half has become their calling card throughout the first seven games of the season.
Well, the opponent may have been a different team, but the results were the same on Saturday night, as the Demons rallied from a 13-3 first-quarter deficit to take down the visiting Wichita North Lady Redskins 41-31 in front of a packed gym.
It was the second game of back-to-back contests for the Demons, which featured two Dodge victories, even if those wins weren’t the prettiest to watch.
“It’s a 2-0, but it’s an ugly 2-0, but a win is a win,” said head coach Justin Briggs. “We talked about it before the game that maybe we should just spot North 10 points, 'cause obviously that is what it takes for us to get going. "It’s going to come back to bite us one of these days. You can’t expect to fall behind and come back every time.
"Overall, though, I thought they played hard. We obviously had tired legs, but they're young and they’ll be ready to go Tuesday.”
Cold shooting
In what has become a recurring theme, the Demons fell behind early thanks to a few turnovers and cold shooting, which the Redskins capitalized on.
The first quarter was a pretty evenly matched tug of war between both teams, but the Redskins began to pull away thanks to plenty of second-chance opportunities on offensive rebounds.
Plus, it helps when your star player, Madison Northcutt, throws up a rainbow prayer of a three-point attempt to beat the buzzer, and it banks in off the glass and finds its way to the bottom of the net. That long-range bomb gave North its biggest lead of the game at 10 and was just another shot to add to the list of buzzer-beaters against Briggs’ squad.
The Demons, as per tradition, began to settle down in the second quarter. They used their perimeter ball handling to move the rock around the team and found the open shooter to bury a three-point bucket, which was either Ashley Stephenson or Brenna Briggs during the second frame.
Offensive rebounds continued to haunt Dodge throughout the second quarter, but the Redskins were unable to make a high percentage of shots from in close, squandering many opportunities to stretch out their lead even further.
Once again, with the Demons close to tying things up, the Redskins nailed another shot right before the halftime buzzer. That sent the ladies in with an 18-14 deficit, which was miles better than their 16-2 deficit during Friday night’s game.
Dodge managed only four field goals during the first half — all three-point shots — while the Redskins had 25 shot attempts but could only cash in on seven.
“We ended up shooting 43 percent from the three-point line, which is nice, because obviously we shoot better from behind the line than we do in the paint, which I still haven’t figured that one out,” Briggs joked.
The tides began to turn in the third quarter, as a more determined Demon squad hit the floor. Their gritty interior players, Alexis Sanchez and Ciera Lampe, strapped up their laces and went to work against the Redskins' inside defense, with Lampe even stepping out and hitting her lone three-point attempt.
The two squads would continue to trade blows ,with neither side able to pull away. At the end of three, the Redskins and Demons were deadlocked at 26 each with only eight minutes left.
But, once again, Dodge showed why the fourth quarter is much like its “Tebow time.”
With a suffocating defense and an offense that did better communicating in the final quarter, the Demons were able to jump all over the miscues of the Redskins, getting good looks at the bucket while drawing crucial fouls and sinking their free-throw shots.
Dodge City would end up going 13-for-17 from the charity stripe in the second half as the Demons outscored North 15-5 to wind up with a 10-point victory.
Stephenson led the way for the Demons with 15 points and five assists, while Briggs cleaned up with 10 points and seven steals on the defensive end. Lampe finished with seven points, while Sanchez scored five and led the team in rebounding with seven.
Now the Demons must turn around and get ready for Pratt today, leaving little time to work on what has been ailing them.
“We’ll have a light practice on Monday. We won’t get too physical, but I think we definitely have to spend some time rebounding,” Briggs said. “Also, we have to work on our turnovers, which in my eyes are unforced. We’re so used to, in practice, catching the ball and turning and passing it and being open. It’s not like that in a game situation. We need to be able to shot fake, pass fake. We have a few little things we need to work on.”
The win moves the Demons to 6-2 on the season as they prepare for Pratt tonight at home before the team gears up for its annual tournament.
Just call them the “Comeback Kids.”
For the Dodge City High Lady Demons, falling behind early and roaring back to life in the second half has become their calling card throughout the first seven games of the season.
Well, the opponent may have been a different team, but the results were the same on Saturday night, as the Demons rallied from a 13-3 first-quarter deficit to take down the visiting Wichita North Lady Redskins 41-31 in front of a packed gym.
It was the second game of back-to-back contests for the Demons, which featured two Dodge victories, even if those wins weren’t the prettiest to watch.
“It’s a 2-0, but it’s an ugly 2-0, but a win is a win,” said head coach Justin Briggs. “We talked about it before the game that maybe we should just spot North 10 points, 'cause obviously that is what it takes for us to get going. "It’s going to come back to bite us one of these days. You can’t expect to fall behind and come back every time.
"Overall, though, I thought they played hard. We obviously had tired legs, but they're young and they’ll be ready to go Tuesday.”
Cold shooting
In what has become a recurring theme, the Demons fell behind early thanks to a few turnovers and cold shooting, which the Redskins capitalized on.
The first quarter was a pretty evenly matched tug of war between both teams, but the Redskins began to pull away thanks to plenty of second-chance opportunities on offensive rebounds.
Plus, it helps when your star player, Madison Northcutt, throws up a rainbow prayer of a three-point attempt to beat the buzzer, and it banks in off the glass and finds its way to the bottom of the net. That long-range bomb gave North its biggest lead of the game at 10 and was just another shot to add to the list of buzzer-beaters against Briggs’ squad.
The Demons, as per tradition, began to settle down in the second quarter. They used their perimeter ball handling to move the rock around the team and found the open shooter to bury a three-point bucket, which was either Ashley Stephenson or Brenna Briggs during the second frame.
Offensive rebounds continued to haunt Dodge throughout the second quarter, but the Redskins were unable to make a high percentage of shots from in close, squandering many opportunities to stretch out their lead even further.
Once again, with the Demons close to tying things up, the Redskins nailed another shot right before the halftime buzzer. That sent the ladies in with an 18-14 deficit, which was miles better than their 16-2 deficit during Friday night’s game.
Dodge managed only four field goals during the first half — all three-point shots — while the Redskins had 25 shot attempts but could only cash in on seven.
“We ended up shooting 43 percent from the three-point line, which is nice, because obviously we shoot better from behind the line than we do in the paint, which I still haven’t figured that one out,” Briggs joked.
The tides began to turn in the third quarter, as a more determined Demon squad hit the floor. Their gritty interior players, Alexis Sanchez and Ciera Lampe, strapped up their laces and went to work against the Redskins' inside defense, with Lampe even stepping out and hitting her lone three-point attempt.
The two squads would continue to trade blows ,with neither side able to pull away. At the end of three, the Redskins and Demons were deadlocked at 26 each with only eight minutes left.
But, once again, Dodge showed why the fourth quarter is much like its “Tebow time.”
With a suffocating defense and an offense that did better communicating in the final quarter, the Demons were able to jump all over the miscues of the Redskins, getting good looks at the bucket while drawing crucial fouls and sinking their free-throw shots.
Dodge City would end up going 13-for-17 from the charity stripe in the second half as the Demons outscored North 15-5 to wind up with a 10-point victory.
Stephenson led the way for the Demons with 15 points and five assists, while Briggs cleaned up with 10 points and seven steals on the defensive end. Lampe finished with seven points, while Sanchez scored five and led the team in rebounding with seven.
Now the Demons must turn around and get ready for Pratt today, leaving little time to work on what has been ailing them.
“We’ll have a light practice on Monday. We won’t get too physical, but I think we definitely have to spend some time rebounding,” Briggs said. “Also, we have to work on our turnovers, which in my eyes are unforced. We’re so used to, in practice, catching the ball and turning and passing it and being open. It’s not like that in a game situation. We need to be able to shot fake, pass fake. We have a few little things we need to work on.”
The win moves the Demons to 6-2 on the season as they prepare for Pratt tonight at home before the team gears up for its annual tournament.
