According to Dolores players, the seeds of Hill’s halftime message were sown after a dismal second quarter that saw the Lady Bears score no points, allow several uncontested layups, and fall behind, 9-7.
“I think coach lit a little fire under our butts,” Dolores junior Sierra Schwartz said. “At halftime, (Hill) gave a really good speech and we just picked it up as a team and put more effort into the game.”
Indicative of the Lady Bears effort was a momentum-changing hustle play by Brenn Jeter, who raced along the baseline and flipped the ball to Maddie Archuleta for a layup before crashing to the floor. Later in the third quarter, consecutive steals by Schwartz led to fast-break layups for freshman McKenzy Howerton, and by the start of the fourth quarter, the Lady Bears had a 16-13 lead.
“I think our fast break helps a lot,” Howerton said. “When we get a steal, we always look down the court and try to score.”
While the Lady Bears hustle plays and fast-break points headlined the third quarter, Milligin’s play stole the show in the fourth as the recent junior varsity call-up scored three points, pulled down several rebounds, altered numerous Dove Creek shots and completely controlled the paint.
Among the sophomore’s most impressive plays was a drop step layup through an undersized and overwhelmed Dove Creek defender, which put the Lady Bears ahead 19-15.
“I definitely brought my size tonight,” Milligin said. “I’m like 6-foot-2, and pushing those girls around in the paint is my job. Having that inside person and being able to get those quick and easy shots is the best way.”
With the win, the Lady Bears avenged a 15-point loss to Dove Creek earlier this season. Howerton led Dolores in scoring with nine points, Archuleta chipped in eight, Milligan scored three, and Schwartz and Jeter each scored two.
On the Dove Creek side, Shelby Fullmer, Cassie Gatlin, Taylor Hickman, and Aspen Kibel each scored four points.
“We hustled a lot and we tried our best, we really did,” said Lady Bulldogs junior Marissa Hatfield, when asked about her team’s effort. “We need to keep working on shooting and taking the ball to the basket.”
Hoping to build on its recent momentum, Dolores (3-10 overall, 2-5 in SJBL) will play at home against Ignacio on Feb. 2, while Dove Creek (2-9 overall, 1-5 in SJBL) will look to right the ship with a home matchup against Shiprock Northwest on Feb.3.