Lady Bulldogs Win Big While the Boys Lose Two
It's December 3, 2024, and school was out in Morgan County due to potentially hazardous road conditions in the morning. In the evening, all of the ice had melted, and the Bulldog faithful made their way to the Wartburg High School gym for another night of basketball. The boys found themselves face to face with their former coach in Terry Coker as Harriman came to town. In both the JV and the Varsity games, the boys had a hard time keeping up with the physical play of the Harriman Blue Devils. The JV lost 54-31 in the first game of the night while the Varsity boys lost 61-46 in the last game of the night. In between those two losses, the Lady Bulldogs broke out for a big win against the Lady Devils... unfortunately, I neglected to get the final score - but I know the ladies won big. Great job to all! Here are a few highlights:
Junior Varsity Loses Steam Late
In most of the games we've been in this year, our depth of roster has looked impressive. Up against Harriman, they outnumbered us and were able to sub players in waves. During JV and Varsity, they would regularly sub 5 at a time to keep their players fresh. With so many to spare, they also played fast and loose with their fouls - pretty much staying in the bonus - but keeping the Bulldogs off balance because of their daring haphazard approach. While this game ended up very lopsided with a 54-31 final - it seemed much closer. The Bulldogs were actually still in it until the 4th quarter. I'm unsure if we got tired, if Harriman got into a rhythm, or why things went so far south late in the game.
Daniel Bunch played good defense racking up block after block in the paint. His long arms made life difficult for Harriman's inside scoring. Tyson Jones continues to earn the "Rocksteady" moniker with increasingly solid play. He's an instinctive athlete that adds a lot of hustle to the JV roster. Parker Rogers always looks good, and at some point, we may expect him to go the way of Paxton Quinney and disappear from the JV roster altogether. When that happens, it looks like Cole "Patrol" Wilson is settling in more and more. Rogers is the do-it-all, instinctive athlete that gets a surprising number of steals once you start counting - and Cole Patrol plays a similar style of basketball. He popped a three in his minutes tonight, and looked smooth in his ball handling against the pesky defenders of Harriman. All-in-all, this one was a tough loss for our JV boys, but we learn and get better. Keep your heads up, we'll get 'em next time!
Daniel Bunch played good defense racking up block after block in the paint. His long arms made life difficult for Harriman's inside scoring. Tyson Jones continues to earn the "Rocksteady" moniker with increasingly solid play. He's an instinctive athlete that adds a lot of hustle to the JV roster. Parker Rogers always looks good, and at some point, we may expect him to go the way of Paxton Quinney and disappear from the JV roster altogether. When that happens, it looks like Cole "Patrol" Wilson is settling in more and more. Rogers is the do-it-all, instinctive athlete that gets a surprising number of steals once you start counting - and Cole Patrol plays a similar style of basketball. He popped a three in his minutes tonight, and looked smooth in his ball handling against the pesky defenders of Harriman. All-in-all, this one was a tough loss for our JV boys, but we learn and get better. Keep your heads up, we'll get 'em next time!
Lady Bulldogs With a Dominant Win!
The Lady Bulldogs put on a show tonight looking smooth and confident in their victory over the Lady Blue Devils. Leading the way in the scoring column was Myrah "All Good" Hood with 22 points including 2 three-pointers and going 6/7 from the free throw line. She also chipped in with 3 rebounds and 4 steals for a versatile effort. Another great stat line came from Kaylee "Splints" Ledford. Early in the game, I saw a splint roll across the floor, and I thought to myself, "What in the world? Who could play with a broken finger???" Ledford proceeded to not only play, but to put up a robust stat line of 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, and 5 points! Wow! Splints' 5 rebounds were tied for the most in the game with Bryleigh "Sunny" Stafford who is fresh off of a foot injury. While Stafford may normally be all smiles and sunshine - she brings the pain in the paint and showed skills in boxing out for rebounds. I sure didn't see any signs of rust or ill effects from her time in a walking boot.
One nod to a freshman role player: Bradlee "B-Rad" Sexton... She had a radical wrap on her knee, almost like a wild spider web - but she didn't show any signs of limited mobility as she held her own with the onslaught of pressure from Harriman in the paint - putting up 4 points and garnering at least 1 rebound. Sexton already looks up to the task of playing at the high school level - and she has plenty of time to get even better! All in all, great job ladies! You earned this win with your hard work and preparation!
One nod to a freshman role player: Bradlee "B-Rad" Sexton... She had a radical wrap on her knee, almost like a wild spider web - but she didn't show any signs of limited mobility as she held her own with the onslaught of pressure from Harriman in the paint - putting up 4 points and garnering at least 1 rebound. Sexton already looks up to the task of playing at the high school level - and she has plenty of time to get even better! All in all, great job ladies! You earned this win with your hard work and preparation!
Varsity Boys Struggle Against Harriman
After a couple of games without Head Coach Travis Nelson, it was a welcome sight to see his steady presence and leadership back on the sidelines tonight. If you haven't figured this out about Coach Nelson, he places high value on commitment and intensity. One player that led in intensity tonight was Austin "Killer Bees" Beasley. In the minutes that the senior was in, he was running 100 MPH all over the court, leaping and diving for every ball like that possession meant everything. Now, he did boil over at one point drawing a technical foul, but it's clear that Nelson is sending a message to his players - if you want to get minutes on the floor - you MUST show me that you'll give me everything you've got.
There wasn't really a dominant scoring threat for the Bulldogs tonight as Ian Robinson, Paxton Quinney, and Lawson Swint all tied with 8 points for the team lead. For sophomore Paxton "Man Hands" Quinney, those 8 points represented his 2nd-highest varsity performance of the season - but he also chipped in with a team-leading 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 assist. Parker Rogers continues to play sneaky, slippery basketball - leading the team, yet again, in the steals department with 4... and Lawson Swint - he's a young man that plays with passion. Although he would eventually foul out - he plays with a lot of heart and devotion to the game. At one point early, he appeared to be limping on that recently recovered leg. He took short rest breaks - but he played a hard fought game when he clearly wasn't 100% healthy. Keep your heads up young men - you'll have time to regroup before Friday's game.
There wasn't really a dominant scoring threat for the Bulldogs tonight as Ian Robinson, Paxton Quinney, and Lawson Swint all tied with 8 points for the team lead. For sophomore Paxton "Man Hands" Quinney, those 8 points represented his 2nd-highest varsity performance of the season - but he also chipped in with a team-leading 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 assist. Parker Rogers continues to play sneaky, slippery basketball - leading the team, yet again, in the steals department with 4... and Lawson Swint - he's a young man that plays with passion. Although he would eventually foul out - he plays with a lot of heart and devotion to the game. At one point early, he appeared to be limping on that recently recovered leg. He took short rest breaks - but he played a hard fought game when he clearly wasn't 100% healthy. Keep your heads up young men - you'll have time to regroup before Friday's game.
Can we settle something? Poll Available
There are 5 Quinney boys... Yes, Caleb has grown up... and Tucker "Broom-Shaka-Laka" still has some years before high school... But with three Quinneys currently on the basketball team, I hear their name pronounced several different ways. Sometimes it's pronounced Quinn-E - like it rhymes with the Minnie in Minnie Mouse... Other times I hear Queen-E - like it rhymes with Paul Quinney's favorite lunch item:
And of course if we're voting - I've gotta throw one off-the-wall option in there just for fun... So maybe it's pronounced KEEN-WA - like the high protein superfood quinoa that has grown in popularity over the last decade. Whatever we decide, I've gotta have some consistency... Let your voice be heard:
After a busy start to this week - we have a few days to collect our thoughts - fix our mistakes - and come out ready to roll this Friday @ Oakdale.