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Demons pestered by Bulldogs
Washington falls in nonconference battle
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First quarter struggles for the Washington girls basketball team left little room for a comeback against a talented and youthful Ottumwa outfit Monday. The Demons fell in a nonconference test 51-36 to the Bulldogs.
Ottumwa entered Washington’s gym on a 10-game winning streak after losing its first two games of the season. It came out of the gate with the confidence of a team featuring three freshman starters that has found its groove over the past two months.
The Demons won the third quarter and were only outscored by just two points in the second. But a 14-4 deficit after the first period, including a 8-0 blitz by the Bulldogs to start the game proved to be the difference in a 15-point defeat.
“For about 27, 28 minutes, we play phenomenal basketball usually,” Washington coach Colin Mulford said. “It’s just kind of that four minutes where - the game is 32 minutes for a reason... just have (to have) that focus and that energy for that full 32 minutes.”
Washington forced 19 turnovers as it fought back in the second half. It scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to cut Ottumwa’s lead to six, and found itself down 43-36 with three minutes to play.
A timely and-1 from Lea Baroma - who supplied three of the Bulldogs’ five bench points - on Ottumwa’s next possession served as the visitors’ final spark, an 8-0 run to close the game. Washington went 0 of 7 from the field in the home stretch.
The Demons struggled to contain a talented crop of first-year Ottumwa players. All three Bulldogs freshman starters finished with double-doubles on the night, including Emma Ryder, who led all scorers with 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Hayden Keith matched her scoring tally of 11 points with 11 boards. Blake Goldsmith chipped in 10 points and 12 boards.
“It’s crucial to make sure that (we’re able) just to handle one-on-one, man-to-man, can’t allow straight line drives, which we allowed a little bit,” Mulford said. “But still, just that transition to where we have to make sure someone’s stopping the ball, have that communication piece that just wasn’t really there tonight. But they have a solid team (and) they’re going to be good for the next few years.”
Adalyn Long led Washington with 10 points. The Demons had a balanced scoring night, with every player who checked in finding the bottom of the net.
Reagan Miller scored nine points off the bench for Washington. Leighton Messinger chipped in eight.
“They always just battle no matter what the score is and how much time is left, which is all you can really ask for at times,” Mulford said. “I feel like at times offensively we are a little stagnant, which we still need to work on that. Season’s not over, we still have to take it game by game and improve every day.”
The loss dropped Washington to 8-7 with a 3-3 mark in the Southeast Conference. The Demons have six games left before postseason play, including four conference matchups and nonconference games against two ranked Class 3A teams, No. 13 Mid-Prairie (Feb. 2) and at No. 5 Williamsburg (Feb. 9).
