Coyotes Split With Bayard

Potter-Dixs hosted Bayard Friday night for two basketball contests, and earned a split with the girls winning 47-37, and the boys falling 66-20 in a MAC matchup. The Lady Coyotes were coming off the holiday break with a 5 game win streak, and kept that momentum going in their first contest of the new year.

In the first game, the Lady Coyotes started hot, scoring nine points before the the Lady Tigers finally tallied their first points. Bayard junior Kylie Stuart hit a three-pointer to finally put the Lady Tigers on the board, and Bayard turned their success into an 11-0 run and took a two point lead into the second period. As the second period wound down, however, the Lady Coyotes led by seniors Payge Hoffman and Audrey Juelfs regained their momentum and lead at the half 26-16.

Defense and turnovers marked the beginning of the second half, with both teams struggling to score. Bayard was able to gain an advantage and out scored the Lady Coyotes 9-6, cutting their overall deficit to seven.

In the final minutes, the Lady Coyotes opened up a 17 point advantage, and Potter-Dix coach Audrey Juelfs let the bench players finish out the game. The final score of the game was 47-37 in favor of Potter-Dix.

In the boy’s contest, turnovers played a big role as the Coyotes tried to reverse their fortunes handling the ball. In their 5 losses this season, Potter-Dix had average 36 turnovers per game and knew this had to improve if they were to garner the win against the Tigers. However, Bayard capitalized on the Coyotes weakness from the very start, forcing a dozen turnovers in the first period alone, and opening up a 25-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, and the Coyotes could not stop the Tigers from running away with the game.

By the end of the half, Bayard had pulled away to a 42-10 lead, with juniors Payton Oliverius and Lane Hargens dominating the scoring. The Coyotes 19 turnovers against the Tigers seven showed the effects of Bayard’s full-court press.