CCLP/TJ MAXWELL - Cove senior Dejhana Butler fights for a rebound in a crowd of Midway defenders during their 60-44 loss Tuesday in Waco. The Lady Dawgs return to action tonight at home against San Angelo Central.CCLP/ TJ MAXWELL - Copperas Cove sophomore Madison Griffon drives by Midway defender Caleyah Burrell during Tuesday’s 66-44 loss to the Pantherettes. Griffon led the Lady Dawgs’ scoring with 10 points and was 5 for 6 from the free throw line. The Lady Dawgs host San Angelo Central tonight with the varsity set for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

GROWING PAINS

Feisty Lady Dawgs fall to No. 16 Midway in defensive scrum
By TJ MAXWELL
Cove Leader-Press
 
Copperas Cove head coach Eldridge McAdams wasn’t pleased to fall to 0-2 in District 8-6A action but was pleased with the effort given by his young squad in their 60-44 loss to the no. 16-ranked Midway Pantherettes on Tuesday in Waco.
 
For the second-straight game, the Lady Dawgs struggled to get their shots to fall, shooting just 26 percent from the field, but McAdams was proud of the growth his team showed in the loss.
 
“I definitely was (proud) and that’s what I just told them,” McAdams said in post-game comments. They definitely know that coach McAdams doesn’t like losing but I told them, ‘the fight and intensity was there the whole game.’”
 
The Lady Dawgs fought off an early offensive spurt and 10-point lead by the Pantherettes to cut the lead to four, 21-17, midway through the second quarter paced with baskets by senior post Kayla McCloud and senior forward Chyanne Chapman.
 
A 9-2 run by Midway gave them an 11-point advantage at the half, 30-19.
 
The Pantherettes continued their run to begin the third quarter with a three-pointer by Aliyah Parks and back-to-back steals for layups by Caleyah Burrell pushed the Midway lead to 15, 37-22, with 5:02 left in the third period.
 
“We just shot ourselves in the foot in that third quarter,” said McAdams. “We came in and let them extend the lead by making some, I thought, careless turnovers but, overall, the girls stayed with it and we went on some little runs.”
 
The Lady Dawgs made a bit of a run to begin the fourth quarter with shots by junior Erica Powell and Chapman and free throws by sophomores Madison Griffon and Oni Boodoo, but a pair of timely three-pointers by Dajia Davis and Regganee Allen helped maintain the Midway advantage, 50-34.
 
The Lady Dawgs then made another push with a 10-3 run to cut the Pantherette lead to single digits, 53-44, with 2:56 left in the contest.
 
A bucket by Chapman began the run while a steal for a layup by Boodoo and three-pointers by Boodoo and Griffon paced the effort.
 
The Lady Dawgs outscored the Pantherettes 17-16 in the final frame but lopsided 1st and 3rd quarters allowed Midway to build a substantial lead heading into the final frame.
 
“When we allowed the game to come to us and didn’t try to do too much, I thought we did well,” said McAdams. You’re going to see pressure like that from Midway, Ellison and other teams in this district. We’ve got to used to it and get ready for it.”
 
The Pantherettes finished the contest with seven unanswered points to take the 60-44 win.
 
McAdams was happy with the improvements made between their district opening loss to Belton and Tuesday’s loss.
 
“(The biggest improvement was) intensity, heart and fight,” he said. “I thought the last time we were on the court we sort of gave the game away in some way. Tonight, we made them earn it.”
 
The Lady Dawgs took a 4-0 lead to begin the contest with a bucket by junior Mariyah Reynolds and to free throws by Griffon but Midway quickly regained the lead for good on a 19-5 run with a Barbara Benson floater for the first bucket and steal and assist from Benson to Janaiya Davis for the tie. Midway then took the lead on a layup by Elise Tate.
 
A three-pointer by Allen coupled with buckets by Gillian Crain, J. Davis, Benson and Allen closed the period. A putback by senior post Dejhana Butler, a three-pointer by freshman Madisen Honea accounted for the other two Cove baskets in the period.
 
The Lady Dawgs began the second frame with a 6-0 run on a floater by Griffon and buckets by McCloud and Chapman.
 
The Pantherettes responded with an 11-4 spurt to close the period and take a 30-19 lead at the break. Buckets by J. Davis, Tate and Allen and a trey by Burrell accounted for the Midway run.
 
The Pantherettes (11-3, 1-1 in District 8-6A) were led by Janaiya Davis with 14 points and Allen with 12. Burrell added nine points and Benson chipped in six.
 
The Lady Dawgs were led by Griffon’s 10 points and Boodoo’s nine. Chapman added eight and Butler chipped in six for the Lady Dawgs. The Lady Dawgs were 12 for 39 from twopoint range and 2 for 13 from beyond the arc.
 
McAdams knows it doesn’t get any easier with the new addition to 8-6A San Angelo Central coming to town Friday before facing no. 8/15 ranked Ellison on the road after the Christmas break on Tuesday, Jan. 3.
 
“Regardless of what they are doing, we have to stay focused, keep working and do what we’ve got to do,” McAdams said about the tough district slate ahead.
 
“The main thing is we learned. Sometimes growing pains are good. I don’t like losing but we got after it and we just have to keep working.”
 

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