Moving through their first week of games, the Lady Dragons have made an irrefutable statement with aggressive and dominating play- they are here to PLAY.  Going three for three of their games thus far in the season, they have outshot, outworked, outmaneuvered and flat out, outplayed their opponents.  By no means has the MHS girls basketball team been perfect, but what they have been is adaptable, fierce and determined, making them a force for any team they come up against.

The Lady Dragons first went up against the Cougars in Firth on Wednesday, November 15.  Malad came out with a bit of a rocky start, struggling to make baskets and committing fouls early on in the game.  But their defense kept them in it, hustling to put on the pressure to make stops on the Cougar offense and give their own offense another look.  Izzy Haycock first put points on the board for Malad, hitting a three pointer from the left wing as the clock ticked down to 5:42.  

With that basket, it seemed to open up the floor and they would score on their next two possessions.  Olivia Nelson with the ball down on the block, started to make a move through the key where she found Mikell Keetch open.  Quickly dishing it over, Nelson passed the ball to Keetch who finished the play with a quick shot from the paint for two points.  On their next trip down the floor, Brynnlee Jones found an open shot on the arc for three.

Offensively, the Lady Dragons had found a way to capitalize on the Cougar defensive strategy.  Starting their defense at half court, the Cougars would force Malad left, making it the only way to bring the ball down.  Being more than capable to work the ball down that side of the court, Malad would drive, beating the defense down the sideline.  Making the most of their advantage, it became a simple game of drive and dish.  As the Lady Dragons drove the seams of the Cougar defense, they would force the defense to commit to the ball and then kick back out to the open player for the shot.  

Alternatively, if the defense wouldn’t step in to shut off the drive, Malad would finish taking it all the way in to score the easy layup.  On several occasions, Haycock and Keetch would find themselves bringing the ball down the court without a defender attempting to pick them up.  They saw the opportunity to drive down the lane, weaving between the slow defenders with their sure ball handling skills to take it in for the score.

It wasn’t until nearly a minute left in the opening quarter that Firth finally put one through the hoop to make the score 18-3.  Nelson added two more points for Malad as the quarter closed out as she put in two shots from the free throw line, ending the quarter 20-3.

Firth slowly started making their way back into the game, finally connecting with the basket on offense but Malad made their opportunities few and far in between.  Having studied their play, the Lady Dragons could anticipate their moves to either cut off the pass or intercept it.  Nelson had four steals in the key as she employed that very tactic.

The Cougars made adjustments with their defense, working to cut off the drive.  The Lady Dragons equally adjusted, swinging the ball around the outside, making quick passes around to the open player on the outside faster than the defense could keep up.  On one such occasion, Malad had the ball in the corner on the left side.  They passed up to the wing and then over to Keetch on the opposite wing, wide open to flutter the net with a three pointer.  The Lady Dragons also worked to maximize opportunities on their transition down the court.  Nelson, quick to board, cleared the ball out to Jones who connected with Haycock midcourt.  Seeing open teammate Oaklie Hebdon, Haycock passed it into Hebdon on the arc for a quick three pointer.

As the half began to wind down, the Lady Dragons maintained their commanding lead.  Hallie Horsley found herself at the free throw for Malad after getting fouled on the rebound putback.  Sinking both shots, Horsley put the Lady Dragons up 36-17 with only eight seconds left.  Horsley would go nine for twelve at the line for Malad, leading the team with a total of 21 points.

As the game recommenced after the half, Firth came out with a new offensive tactic- to spread the defense out to work the ball inside.  Their new game plan gave them new looks that seemed to help them gain ground on the scoreboard, but the Lady Dragons continued to hit shots and continued to dominate the game.  As the final buzzer rang out, Malad claimed the win, 72-56.

The Lady Dragons hosted Ririe Saturday, November 18 in a long anticipated matchup after a disappointing loss, followed by a reconciling win in their 2022/2023 season.  Splitting their games the previous season, Malad was determined to come out and dominate the court.

Jones led the Lady Dragons from the moment of tip off, draining a three pointer from the corner less than ten seconds into the game.  After regaining possession after a defensive stop, Jones brought the ball down court, pulling up for a jumper at the top of the arc for another net fluttering three.  After a MHS rebound, Haycock brought the ball down into Dragon territory, driving into the defense to create space for the kickout to Jones behind her to hit yet another three pointer.  With less than one minute off the clock, the Lady Dragons found themselves up 9-0.  Nelson kept the pressure on as she put up a rebound from the block to make it 11-0.

Ririe’s coach called a timeout, attempting to stop the bleeding and reign in the Malad offense.  The Bulldogs kickstarted their offense after the timeout, finding their own luck from behind the arc with a couple of three pointers.  Their offense brought a unique threat to the floor by spreading players out along the outside, making room to cut in and drive or capitalize on the open shot.  The Lady Dragon defense fought to shut down their play, desperate to minimize the opportunities the Cougars would have off of their well played screens.  

With three minutes left in the quarter, the Bulldogs managed to pull ahead, 20-16.  Not feeling the least unsure of their game, the Lady Dragons battled back to come back on top.  Hebdon dished into Nelson alone on the elbow, who drove down the lane and under the hoop where she put it in for two on a reverse layup.  On the next RHS possession, Haycock came in for the weakside rebound and took it down to pull up for the three pointer to reclaim the lead as the quarter ended.

Moving into the second quarter, the Ririe offense could have easily pushed back as play could easily lead to defensive mismatches, open looks down the lane and free shots from the outside.  But with the reps down the floor, Malad was able to tighten down their defense and nearly shut down their offense, not only for the quarter, but for the remainder of the game.  Playing quick on their feet, the Lady Dragon defense did well to help on the drive, come out hands up on passes and playing big on the rebounds.

Malad played equally intense and aggressive on offense, posing a threat both on the outside as well as on the block.  A number of times, Nelson and Horsley found themselves isolated inside with the wings sending it in.  With what seemed like an effortless move, they would step around the defense to lay it off the glass for two points.  From the outside, Haycock, Hebdon, and Jones would drive or it up shots from the arc.  No matter what the Bulldog defense tried, there was just no stopping the Lady Dragons.  Going into half, Malad was back up 41-27.

Beginning in the third quarter, Malad jumped in with the same focus and pressure which converted to a 22-11 run over the next quarter.  Jones, on fire from the arc, accounted for 20 of those points.  The Lady Dragons worked the ball around the court, swinging it from side to side, finding Jones open on the arc.  Three minutes later, the same ball movement left Jones open again on the left wing, hitting a second three pointer.  With the crowd cheering, “Give it to her!” Jones settled into her sweet spot to sink another after a MHS offensive rebound. 

With a 1:20 left in the quarter, Hebdon took two dribbles in before a quick jumper, grabbing her own rebound after the miss.  Pivoting around on the free throw line, Hebdon found Jones open at the top of the court and connected for a fourth three pointer for the quarter.  Over the game, Jones went an impressive nine for twelve behind the arc, hitting a dominating 27 points for the game.

Keeping with their momentum and commanding lead to the end of the game, the Lady Dragons finished the game 71-55, playing four full quarters of intense, aggressive basketball.  Head Coach Trevor Jones spoke of their games over the week saying, “These girls have really learned to come out and play.  They don’t let up.  We talk about changes we need to make and then they make them.  They want the ball and they show that every time they get on the floor.  We are super proud of how hard these girls work.  They make this fun basketball and we are excited to see where this season takes us as they continue to drive and improve daily.”

With the Thanksgiving holiday moving in, the Lady Dragon team will next compete in the Ririe tournament November 20- December 2.