Bulldogs notch second win over ranked team

HAMPTON — The Bulldog girls’ basketball team improved to 3-0 with a 64-60 impressive win over Class 1A No. 12 St. Ansgar on Saturday, Dec. 7.

What was even more impressive is that sophomore guard Lauren Meader overcame first-half foul trouble and no points to a team-leading 21-point second-half performance.

“I know that she was frustrated the way she played first quarter and picking up two fouls and things like that,” Bulldog head coach Miranda Valley said. “She didn’t do too much, she didn’t try to make things happen. Her teammates did a good job of driving to the basket like we asked them to and we found the open person and the open person was her, so it worked out. She knocked down some big shots.”

Meader added, “We can’t control the refs, all we can control is our attitudes and how we play the game, so we just had to take charge and take the game over. We’ve worked as a team, got our passes in. Basically, I got a lot of good passes that led to some great baskets and I just happened to be there.”

The win improved the Bulldogs to 3-0 overall, a good start to a team that finished 8-13 last year.

“That’s a good way to end a long, hard week,” Valley said. “And we were tested today, and that’s good. Obviously, we have tired legs, they have some really good players that can shoot. She (Brooklyn Hackbart) sees the floor really well and I thought our girls kept battling. When they made runs, we would keep a run on ourselves. They did a much better job in the second half of moving the ball and being offensive-minded.”

Hackbart led all scorers at halftime with 12 as the Saints rallied from a nine-point lead after the first quarter to a tight halftime score with the Bulldogs maintaining a 32-29 advantage.

However, she picked up her third foul with 2 minutes, 40 seconds left in the third quarter and fourth early in the fourth quarter, giving the Bulldogs a distinct advantage. She finished with 17 points before fouling out with 4:41 to go.

“It’s huge,” Valley said of the Saint leaders’ foul trouble. “Any time you can get (out) one of their big kids go-to players with that much time left you’ve got to take advantage of it. Avery (Hanson) did a good job of attacking and they knew she had four and she was either going to give up a lay-up or foul, so that was good. They did a nice job.”

Hali Anderson tried to pick things up in Hackbart’s absence, recording a triple-double with 22 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds. A pair of three-pointers down the stretch by Hannah Patterson, also, made the game a lot closer after she hit her final one with 29 seconds remaining to make it 63-60.

One-of-two free throws by Hanson in the final seconds provided the final tally as she scored 14. Courtney Miller, who had nine points at halftime, finished with 11.

The Bulldogs have a road test this Friday against Clarion-Goldfield (1-1) and have a non-conference tilt at home against North Butler the following day.

“We feel really good going into next week,” Meader said. “We just have to keep working hard and go from there. We expected us to be better this year and other teams didn’t, so we’re coming in and showing who we are now.”

Bulldogs 64, St. Ansgar 60

St. Ansgar (1-1, 1-0)– Hannah Patterson 4-9 0-0 10, Hali Anderson 7-12 4-5 22, Lauren Bork 0-0 0-0 0, Gracie Urbatsch 3-7 1-3 7, Brooklyn Hackbart 7-14 2-5 17, Megan Gooder 1-4 0-0 2, Maggie Davis 1-3 0-1 2, Kira Baldus 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-49 7-14 60.

Bulldogs (2-0, 1-0) –Kaci Arjes 3-8 0-3 8, Lauren Meader 8-10 2-5 21, Maci Arjes 0-5 0-0 0, Calista Polk 1-8 0-0 3, Courtney Miller 4-9 2-3 11, Avery Hanson 5-10 2-6 14, Briana Grover 2-5 3-4 7. Totals 23-55 9-21 54.

St. Ansgar16   13   16   15      -   60

Bulldogs    25     7   16   16      -   64

Three-point goals– SA 7-16 (Anderson 4-5, Patterson 2-5, Hackbart 1-2, Urbatsch 0-1, Gooder 0-3); H-D (Meader 3-3, Hanson 2-4, K. Arjes 2-7, Polk 1-4, Miller 1-5). Rebounds– SA 34, 4 off., 30 def., (Anderson 12, Urbatsch 8, Hackbart 7, Team 3, Baldus 2, Patterson, Davis); H-D 25, 8 off., 17 def. (Hanson 8, Miller 6, K. Arjes 5, Meader 2, M. Arjes 2, Grover 2). Assists– SA 18 (Anderson 13, Patterson 3, Urbatsch, Gooder); H-D 10 (Miller 4, Meader 2, Hanson 2, M. Arjes, Polk). Steals– SA 6 (Hackbart 3, Anderson 2, Patterson); H-D 14 (M. Arjes 4, Meader 3, Grover 3, Polk, Miller, Hanson). Blocks– SA 4 (Hackbart 2, Patterson, Baldus); H-D, None. Total fouls– SA 17, H-D 15. Fouled out – SA (Hackbart, Davis); H-D, None.