Bulldog Girls Season Ends in First Round Playoff Loss

The Hampton-Dumont-CAL Bulldog girls basketball team wrapped up their regular season against the Saint Edmond Gaels and then got busy preparing for the postseason matchup with the top seeded Osage Green Devils.  The girls team has been through a tough season dealing with injuries, weather complications, and the normal rigors of a high school basketball season, but they have continued to persevere through the trials and tribulations.

Tuesday, February 7th the Bulldogs headed to Fort Dodge to take on the Saint Edmond Gaels in the final conference game of the season.  The Gaels would enter the contest with an 0-20 record.  The Bulldogs jumped out to a fast start there, opening up a 24-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.  The Bulldogs would continue their dominance with a 32-7 halftime lead and rode it to cruise to a 52-19 victory over the Gaels.  The Bulldogs ended their conference and regular season with a big victory and in so doing pushed their record to 5-16 overall, and secured a sixth place finish in the North Central Conference with a 4-10 record.  Jordan Valley led the Bulldogs with 13 points and 4 assists, while sister Brooklyn Valley would add 12 points, 5 rebounds, 6 steals, and 4 assists.  Lily Hambly had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Saturday night kicked off the post season play for the Bulldogs who traveled up to Osage to face the top seeded Green Devils for class 3A region 7 tournament action.  Osage in the past proved a tough opponent for the Bulldogs, as the two teams had played earlier this season with the Green Devils winning that meet by a wide margin at 64-20.  The opening quarter remained close as the both teams dialed up pressure, but the Green Devils led 15-7 at the close.  The second quarter would see Osage begin to pull away and the score at the half was 32-11.  The Bulldogs would not be able to mount a rally though and ultimately fell 52-25 to the Green Devils.  The loss stamped the Bulldogs season with a 5-17 record.

Sophomore’s lead the way in statistical categories for the Bulldogs as Jordan Valley led the team in points and assists.  Brooklyn Valley finished the year second on the team in points, second in assists, and third in rebounds.  Fellow sophomore Lily Hambly finished third on the team in points while leading the Bulldogs in rebounds.  Next season the team is poised to return a core nucleus of underclassmen that should be able to continue to grow and develop over the offseason.