The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG - Home court advantage didn't spell a win for the Lady Cards who dropped a 2B League match to the Lady 'Dogs, 42-25 on Saturday.

Bulldog Coach Clayton Strong was pleased with the win. "With a rivalry match you never know what you're going to get. They're always really com­petitive."

WP's Samantha Fed­derson took the ball in the tipoff, but the Bulldogs grabbed it back and held the WP scoreless throughout the first quarter. Quarter one closed with a score of 9 - 0, Bulldogs.

The Cards warmed up a bit in the second quarter, scoring six points to Day­ton's 11. Hannah Grant scored the lone 3-point basket of the game for WP, ending the quarter 20-6, Bulldogs.

The 'Dogs performed a replay - grabbing an­other 11 in quarter three -- with Bulldog high scorer Madison Mings making an impressive 3-pointer. Third quarter play wrapped up at 31-14, Dayton.

In the fourth, both teams scored 11 points, but it was too little, too late for the Cards. The game ended with a final score of 42-25, Bulldogs.

"Hanna Grant was really good," said WP Coach Brit­tany Ayers-Stamper. "She played great at DeSales last night as well. There she made two 3's. She's driv­ing and screening well also. I'm really proud of her."

Ayers-Stamper acknowl­edged the loss of two start­ers has made play increas­ingly challenging. Chelsey Brannock is out for the season with a concussion and Enedina Fuentes with a leg injury.

"Having our two senior captains out of the game has had a huge impact. Chelsey was almost al­ways top scorer and we lost two really good ball han­dlers, which leaves us hurt­ing," said Ayers-Stamper. "Loegan and Kassidy are really stepping up but they have some big shoes to fill."

Grant and Fedderson were WP's top scorers with six points each. Kassidy Kuykendall scored five, Paige Wood four and Heidi Miller and Analise Salazar knocked down two each.

Madison Mings and Lexi Ramirez led the Bull­dogs, grabbing nine points each, followed closely by Sidney Andrews with eight and Sarah Phillips with six. Kellie Moore and Kaitlyn Andrews scored four each and Shayla Currin added two.

Bulldog Coach Strong said he was pleased that his team shot better than in their previous match against WP, but there were a few things they still need to clean up. "They stopped us from making a few of our plays. League rivals always know your stuff. We needed to counter better when they take the ball away."

Strong was looking for­ward to upcoming games against TCP and DeSales. " We've got a big weekend ahead. TCP is always tough and DeSales is DeSales," said Strong. "You're always curious where you sit with a top-of-the-league com­petitor like DeSales." The 'Dogs dropped their first league game of the sea­son to DeSales, 51-30 but Strong is hoping for a dif­ferent outcome on Dayton's home court.

League play will resume in an away game against Tri-Cities Prep on Jan. 17 and a home game against DeSales on January 18.

The Lady Cards tackle Asotin in an away game on Jan. 18 and play Colfax here on Jan. 21.