Karley Bellew scores a third-quarter jumper against Glide on her way to a double-double, with 18 points and 13 rebounds. GINI DAVIS – THE CRESWELL CHRONICLE
Poor shooting and low energy cost the 12th-ranked Lady Bulldogs, who fell 23-45 to host Pleasant Hill on Jan. 30. Creswell defeated the visiting Glide Wildcats 33-22 in another low-scoring outing on Feb. 1.
After a sluggish 7-20 first quarter at Pleasant Hill, Creswell outscored the Billies 10-6 to narrow the gap to 17-26 at halftime.
”We came out very flat,” said Head Coach Tyler Hollingsworth. ”Pleasant Hill came out with a lot of energy; they were rockin’ and rollin’ and we were not.”
Creswell managed just two points in the third, trailing 19-33, and four in the fourth.
”In the second quarter it looked like were finally showing up, but we didn’t sustain it,” Hollingsworth said. ”We didn’t make our shots on some great opportunities in the first quarter, and from that point on our offense was not there. It was a mental game for us that we did not respond very well in.”
The Billies mixed things up on defense, switching between zone, man-to-man and a box-and-one aimed at denying Lady Dawgs leading scorer Karley Bellew, who finished with just four points.
”She was not shooting well, and they did a good job trying to take her out of her game,” Hollingsworth said.
Bailey Howell led Creswell with nine points, three steals and three blocks. Bellew added seven rebounds and four steals.
Bellew recorded a double-double against Glide. Her 18 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and two blocks paced a more focused, energetic Creswell team that nevertheless led just 7-4 after one.
”We got off to a slow start, but we were doing a good job limiting them and we kept our energy up; we were playing good basketball whether we were scoring or not, which was good to see,” Hollingsworth said.
Creswell caught fire in the second quarter, outpacing Glide 15-3 for a 22-7 halftime lead. The Bulldogs led 27-12 after three.
”We had decent offense in the first half, but it was our defense that was really good,” Hollingsworth said. ”We were flying around, playing with a sense of urgency, and doing a good job of making them take the shots we wanted them to take.”
Cali Allen had seven points. Howell added six points, six boards and two blocks. Aleesha Fox had four assists.
The Lady Dawgs will honor their seniors during Friday’s Senior Night home game against Coquille.
