Jumping straight into games as the Christmas break came to a close, the Lady Dragons had three games for their opening week of the new year.  The MHS girls basketball team opened their week as they traveled to Bear River High School and then later hosted both Bear Lake and Soda Springs.  Splitting games over the week, the Lady Dragons celebrated big wins also while learning some crucial lessons from frustrating losses.

Hitting the road Tuesday, January 2, Malad took care of business as they took on the Bear River Bears.  Confident that they would dominate the game, the Lady Dragons used the game as an opportunity to work through their various offenses and defenses that they would need to execute throughout the week’s games.  

Working the plays inside and out, up and down the floor, and on offense and on defense, all of Malad’s players found a way to contribute.  Olivia had an impressive night, putting up stats across the board with 20 rebounds, 15 points, 2 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.  Mikell Keetch added 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in just three quarters of the game.  Hallie Horsley contributed 15 points, 9 rebounds,  1 assist and 2 steals, with Brynnlee Jones adding 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal and Oaklie Hebdon putting up another 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.  Point guard Izzy Haycock led in assists with 6, adding 7 more points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.

With other players adding a few more points here and there, the team put up an impressive 77 points, setting a new record for the most points in a Lady Dragon basketball game.

Two days later, the Lady Dragons welcomed the Bear Lake Bears, a team that certainly came to play from the instant they stepped foot on the court.  They had an intense, in your face full court defense and a consistent offense that went 40% on their field goal attempts.  The Bears did well to establish their space under the basket as they rebound, making it difficult for the Lady Dragons to have second chance shots.

The Lady Dragons struggled against the challenge, but never counted themselves out of the game as they battled it out on the court. Heading into the fourth quarter, Bear Lake had a commanding lead of 26-44.  Determined to close the gap, the Lady Dragons tightened up both their offense and defense.  Never not believing that they could make a comeback, Malad closed the gap on the scoreboard as the time on the clock whittled down.  

With just a few seconds left in the game, the MHS team was looking for a three pointer to tie the game and send it into overtime.  The Lady Dragons inbounded the ball from the sideline, hitting Jones on the arc with the defense on her heels.  With a defender in her face, Jones worked to get a shot off before the clock expired, hitting the rim just as the final buzzer sounded.  Despite their great comeback, Malad fell 50-53.

To end the week, the Lady Dragons hosted the Soda Springs Cardinals, a game they had been looking to all season.  After the disappointing loss against Bear Lake, the Malad was determined to make the most of every play of the game, both on offense and on defense. 

The Cardinal offense came out firing, putting the up the first points of the game.  The Lady Dragons had great scoring opportunities, but just couldn’t get the shots to fall.  But it didn’t take long for the MHS offense to finally catch up as Hebdon hit a three pointer off a kickout from Horsley after moving through the tough Cardinal full court press.  Not long after, Haycock took a strong drive to basket, getting fouled on the shot and sending her to the free throw line to hit some bonus shots.  Keetch, having previously checked into the game, hit a perfect three point shot on Malad fast break.

The two teams traded the lead back and forth four times before the Lady Dragons slowly began to pull away in the second quarter.  Coming off the bench, Kiley Miller made an impressive contribution to her team as she repeatedly drove to the basket through the Soda defense for lay in shots.  Defensively her quick feet made it near impossible for the Cardinals to work through their offense.  After a quick grab off a Malad missed ball, Soda headed towards their basket on fast break.  Miller hustled down the court, beating the offense with time enough to set up to take the charge for the Lady Dragons.

The MHS team as a whole had their best defensive game thus far in the season, rotating and recovering well as Soda moved the ball around.  Under the basket, Jones had a stellar night, not only picking up 15 rebounds, but also tallying up 6 blocked shots.  As a team, the Lady Dragons racked up 47 rebounds, far outdoing the Cardinal’s 29.  Their efforts on defense were clearly demonstrated on the scoreboard as Malad led throughout the game.  

The Cardinals made a strong effort to come back in the fourth quarter, setting up in their intense full court press.  The Lady Dragons did well to move the ball down the court with quick passes and sound ball handling skills, but the Cardinals found weak moments to capitalize on and convert into scoring opportunities of their own.  

As the time counted down, Soda’s defense became even more aggressive as they attempted to grab a steal or commit a foul to send the Lady Dragons to the line.  Jones, Keetch and Horsley all hit crucial free throw shots despite the physical beatings they endured to put them at the bonus line.  The Lady Dragons held off the Cardinals long enough to maintain the lead as the game finished out, 54-52. 

Celebrating the first Malad win over Soda Springs in years, Head Coach Trevor Jones commented, “This is what happens when we hustle.  This is what happens when we don’t take plays off.  We push the girls everyday for games like this and it is great to see their hard work pay off.  There are still things we need to work on, and we will, but this game has helped us to see the progress we have made this year.”

The Lady Dragons will take to the road for their next week of games, first playing in Marsh Valley on Wednesday, January 10 and then in Aberdeen on Friday, January 12.