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(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Ladycat Mattie Dollar jumps to make a shot at the net as she continues to be a force for the Newcastle team each game. Dollar scored 24 points for the team, almost half of the points made during the game. -
(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Camren Mallory of the Ladycats jumps to get possession of the ball during the Newcastle matchup Friday, Jan. 24 against Perrin. It was another big win for the team as it maintains its perfect district record. -
(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Emma Hawkins of the Ladycats runs past Perrin defenders to attempt a shot at the net Friday, Jan. 24. The team came away with a big 51-28 win over Perrin and remains perfect in district play at 7-0. -
(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Catherine Youngblood of the Ladycats dribbles past Perrin players as she looks for an opening to make a shot or pass during the game Friday, Jan. 24. Youngblood was one of the key players for the team during the game.
Starting late in December with their win over Mineral Wells, the Newcastle Ladycats have won 11 straight games and that streak continued Friday with a dominating 51-28 win over Perrin.
As with recent games with the Ladycats, things started out in their favor with strong performances from the team in the first quarter.
Two 3-point shots from Mattie Dollar and one 2-point shot from Camren Mallory, Kenna Mahan, Emma Hawkins, Catherine Youngblood and Dollar put the team ahead by nine points at the end of the first quarter.
“The girls are playing hard. I mean they’re playing their tail off,” head coach Ryan Dollar said. “We started out pretty well tonight, scored 16 in the first quarter, 14 in the second. Sometime late in the second quarter, we kind of got a little lazy in transition defense and we gave up a layup, we gave up a wide open three, stuff that we normally don’t do.”
Moving into halftime the team was ahead 30-16 and Dollar brought another 11 points to board along with two each from Kenzie King and Youngblood. With the offensive strength came a stalwart defensive front from the team.
“We gave up four points in the third quarter,” coach Dollar said. “That’s one of those things we really preach, is we’re going to have off days where we don’t shoot the ball well, but our defense should never be off. Our energy and our efforts should always be there, so we should always have a chance to win games just due to the defense.”
The Ladycats faltered in the final quarter with only six points while giving up eight to the Lady Pirates, but it could not change the huge gap already seen throughout the game. The head coach said the team is always improving and learning.
“We keep adding stuff offensively, and the girls are just picking it up and it’s pretty cool just to watch,” coach Dollar said. “I think I threw six new sets at them this week Wednesday and Thursday and they, for the most part, just picked them up and ran with them.”
Leading in scoring for Ladycats was Dollar with 24 points, followed by Youngblood with 11 points, Sophie Terrell with six points, Mallory with four points and Hawkins, Mahan and King with two points.
After traveling Tuesday, Jan. 28 to Bryson the team will travel Friday, Jan. 31 to face Garner. As the team looks ahead at its schedule and what lies beyond, they understand the challenges they face.
“Looking ahead at the playoff route, it’s going to be tough,” coach Dollar said. “...You’ve got Dodd City, Forestburg, Milford, Neches and Gorman that you all have got to run through to get to the state championship. I think that’s how it should be. If you want to be the best, you have to beat them. We’re going to give it a go and see what happens.”
