Lady Bulldogs inch closer to state tournament

CACHE - Coming off a big loss to Amber-Pocasset on Monday, Empire girls coach Jaicee Powers regrouped her team and the Lady Bulldogs kept their season alive with a 35-28 win over Sterling on Thursday night.

Powers felt it was crucial for her team not only to win but to try to get their groove back following the 49-25 loss.

“It was important, we kind of got hit in the mouth during the Am-Po game and we didn’t respond like we normally do,” Powers said. “We let the moment get a little too big for us, but I think we learned from that. The girls came right back Tuesday morning and got to work and I felt like their mentality and attitudes were good.”

Powers saw some bright spots in the game against the Lady Tigers.

“I thought we defended well today,” Powers said. “Offensively, it wasn’t our best day. I don’t know what our shooting percentage was, but it’s going to need to be better (Friday) and then Saturday.”

Scoring was spread out among the team with only Keira Pineda finishing in double figures. It was her three-pointer with 4:50 to go in the second quarter that broke a 9-9 tie giving Empire the lead for good.Up to that point there there had been a tie and two lead changes.

The Lady Bulldogs did get a lift in the third quarter from freshman Chanlie Rochell. Empire had led 19-11 at the half before Sterling opened the third quarter with back-to-back three-pointers, which cut the lead to two points. Rochell, however, gave her team some breathing room. She scored seven straight points, including a three-pointer to extend the lead to nine points. Empire would take a 28-18 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“It’s nice having our younger kids step up,” Powers said. “Our younger kids have a hard-nosed mentality and they’re used to winning and now that they’ve got some playoff experience under their belt, it will help us (on Friday) because it will be a tough game tomorrow (against Alex).”

The Lady Bulldogs and the Lady Longhorns (20-8) will clash at 1 p.m. today (Friday) in Cache. Wins on Friday and Saturday would give Empire its second straight trip to the state tournament.

Scoring

Empire (21-3): Keira Pineda, 10; Chanlie Rochell, 9; Kenzie Bracken, 6; Avery Smith, 4; Chazli Massey, 3;  Shiann Walker, 2

Sterling (16-12) Mayson Turpin, 12; Katie Milam, 8; Ava Alexander, 5; Lanie Merritt, 3