On Tuesday, Dec. 2, the girls took on the Kimball Cubs in front of a very small, but supportive home crowd.
Both teams started off the game with the same drive and intensity level, which resulted in the Bulldogs being ahead by only two points at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter seemed like an entirely different game. Tough man-to-man defense by the Bulldogs resulted in the Cubs scoring only seven points during the quarter. At the half, the Lady Bulldogs were up 29-17.
During the third quarter, the Bulldogs stayed with their man-to-man defense in an attempt to tire out the Cubs, who played only seven girls during the varsity game.
The team's defensive strategy worked as Kimball scored only seven points and committed numerous turnovers.
Things took a turn for the worse during the fourth quarter, as the Bulldogs became lazy and over confident. The girls were badly out-hustled, and out-scored 6-19. But the Bulldogs won, 52-43.
Amber Michaelis led the way for the Bulldogs with 18 points. Carrie Hemmesch and Kristi Lieser netted eight points a piece, while Tanya Lieser recorded 12 rebounds.
Paynesville 12 17 17 6 -- 52
Kimball 10 7 7 19 -- 43
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle
On Friday, Dec. 5, the Bulldogs made the long journey to Long Prairie to play against the Thunder.
The Bulldogs started the game slow, and allowed LPGE to score the first eight points of the game. At the end of the quarter, the Bulldogs were down, 16-7.
The Bulldogs outscored the Thunder 16-14 in the second quarter, and went into the second half with a seven point deficit.
The rest of the game was a battle as both teams played very good defense and offense. In the end, the Bulldogs were down, and lost 48-42.
Leading the scoring attack for the Bulldogs was Tanya Lieser, who had her second double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. She also had seven blocked shots.
LPGE 16 14 9 9 --48
Paynesville 7 16 10 9 -- 42