Bulldogs Nip At Manhattan's Heels
Author: Eliza McLaughlin - Staff Reporter
Bulldogs Nip At Manhattan's Heels Eliza McLaughlin - Staff Reporter Before leaving on winter break, the Broadwater Bulldogs squeezed in one last match against their local rivals, the Manhattan Tigers.
The Lady Bulldogs kicked off the event, but were quickly outscored by the Tigers.
Down 6-21 at the start of the second period, the Lady Bulldogs leveled the playing field with an 11-14 scoring run which featured a breakaway to a three-pointer by senior Briannah Wiliams.
Early in the third, Williams scored another three-pointer for 23-47. For a while, the girls struggled to get their attempted shots to land, but the dry spell was broken by Sophomore, Madelyn Schritz, bringing the score to 26-53.
The fourth period looked promising as the Lady Bulldogs made some headway early on. Junior, Ella Begger drove the ball to the basket, adding two points to her team’s total, 28-58.
With full press in action, Williams was able to sink another three-pointer and a lay-up, earning a free throw on the way up. With one layup finding the basket, she brought the team to 33-64.
Schritz made the Lady Bulldogs final lay-up of the game and they fell 35-69.
Williams earned 21 of the Lady Bulldogs points during the game, followed by Begger with nine and Schritz with five.
Heading into the break, the Lady Bulldogs are 0-2 for district games and 1-5 overall. The Lady Bulldogs are currently ranked sixth in the district.
The boys' showdown with the Tigers followed and resulted in several close quarters.
Manhattan won the tip-off, but it was quickly recovered by the Bulldogs. Senior, Camden Ferguson was first to score for Townsend, successfully placing two free throws and bringing the team to 2-9.
Ferguson followed his shots up with a layup, to which his teammate Senior, Jesus Garcia responded with a layup of his own, 6-11.
The Tigers attempted to increase their lead, but a big block by Garcia prevented them from doing so. A three-pointer by Senior, Ryan Racht finished out the first period with the Bulldogs down 9-14.
Garcia wasted no time in the second, scoring four points for the team early on. Down by one, Sophomore, Sawyer Horne took aim for the basket. While his shot didn’t land, Garcia was already in the air, sending the ball where it was intended and gave the Bulldogs a one-point lead, 15-14. Horne gave Garcia another assist at 19-23.
Sharing the action with his team, Garcia assisted Sophomore, Deegan Mattson with earning the final two points of the half. The Bulldogs left for the locker room down 21-23.
In the third, Racht sunk a three-pointer, bringing the score to 24-28. Two successful free throws by Garcia increased the Bulldogs score to 26 while the Tigers led 31. Another three-pointer from Racht left the Bulldogs down by three.
With the clock ticking down, Mattson received a nearly full-court pass which he used for a textbook layup, 31-33.
The Bulldogs entered the fourth period still down 31-37, but an early steal and breakaway by Ferguson to Mattson brought the Bulldogs up two points. Garcia echoed with a breakaway of his own, bringing the score to 35-43, followed, almost immediately, by another steal and lay-up to put the Bulldogs down 39-45.
With 30 seconds left in the game, a three-pointer by Garcia made it 42-45 and gave the Bulldogs a viable chance at taking the lead.
The Bulldogs gave up a few late foul shots, making it more difficult to catch up and eventually fell to the Tigers 42-48.
Garcia led in scoring with 21 points, followed by Racht with 11, Mattson with six and Ferguson with four.
So far, Townsend is 1-1 for the district and 4-2 overall. The team will enter the winter break ranked third in the district, behind Three Forks and Manhattan.
Bulldog basketball will return after the break, on Jan. 6 when they travel to Manhattan Christian, followed by another away game in Three Forks on Jan. 7.
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Image 1 Caption: Jesus Garcia reaches for the basked during a breakaway
Image 2 Caption: Camden Ferguson approaches the basket
