Potter-Dix girls run out of steam vs. Hornets

POTTER – After a busy week that culminated in a MAC championship last Saturday, the Potter-Dix Lady Coyotes just might be dog tired.

Despite their busy schedule of late, the Coyotes found enough wind to fight a talented Pine Bluffs (Wyo.) Hornets team to the bitter end Tuesday night before dropping just their third game of the season (12-3). The Hornets (11-1) turned back the Coyotes 44-38 in a non-district matchup in Potter Tuesday night.

With a pressure defense that forced the home Coyotes into quick decisions and costly mistakes, Pine Bluffs slowly took the advantage in the second half. By winning the turnover battle (31-19), the Hornets kept many of the Coyotes late possessions brief.

"They were doing a lot of trapping and we were trying to pass before they could reach us," said the Coyotes' Brooke Glass. "Once we started rushing that's what really forced us into making mistakes."

Throughout a back and forth first half, the Coyotes managed to pull ahead by a single field goal after 16 minutes (23-21). The close battle continued into the second half with each team trading baskets much of the third quarter.

The difference maker came after Dawson Sharman gave the Coyotes a short lived 27-25 lead. The Hornets responded with an 8-0 run that included a 3-pointer from Jesi Zitek and a completed three-point play by Jaden Ragsdale. When the dust settled, Pine Bluffs turned its two-point deficit into a six-point advantage (33-27)

"We had a size advantage on them so we tried to get the ball into our bigs hands with Anna (McLaughlin) and Alexus (Rozelle). But they had some very quick guards and defended us well," said Coyotes's head coach Jeff Einspahr. "We knew we had our hands full with this team. They're very strong."

Rozelle finished the third quarter by returning an offensive rebound through the hoop to get Potter-Dix back within four at 33-29. A pull-up jumper by Audrey Juelfs opened the scoring in the final eight minutes and got the Coyotes within a pair, 33-31.

Though the deficit quickly grew back to six, Sharman shook the twine for three to again make it a one-possession game. Later, a Savannah Shaw free throw brought the Coyotes to within three with 4:50 left in the game. With the pressure defense forcing turnovers on both sides, neither team scored again for almost four minutes.

When the scoring returned, it came in the form of free throws. On three trips to the foul line in the final minute facing one-and-one's, Zitek went 6-for-6 to ice the game for the Hornets. Though Sharman finished the game with a 3-pointer, the Coyotes couldn't overcome Zitek's clutch free-throw shooting.

"We weren't smart with the ball and we really needed to slow it down instead of trying to rush everything," Juelfs said. "They turned out to be just as fast as we heard they were."

The Coyotes took a one point edge after the first quarter with Sharman and Rozelle leading the way with six and five points respectively. One more point was added to their edge over the second eight minutes as Potter-Dix had an 8-7 edge in scoring.

Sharman led the Coyotes in scoring with 14 points while Rozelle added nine and McLaughlin eight. Montana Chrystal (12 points), Ragsdale (11) and Zitek (11) topped the Hornets' scoring sheet.

After a well-deserved team day at Potter Sundry on Wednesday, the Coyotes will return to the court on Saturday at Minatare with junior varsity contests beginning at 3 p.m.