By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
A battle for first place in the Wolverine Conference basketball race will take place tonight at Dowagiac Union High School.
The Lady Chieftains (11-5, 11-3 Wolverine) will host Plainwell (12-4, 11-3) at approximately 7:15 p.m.
Either Dowagiac or Plainwell will keep at least a share of the title following tonight's clash. Otsego, who is also 11-3, takes on Vicksburg tonight. The Lady Bulldogs hope to improve on their 12-4 overall record.
The Chieftains will be trying to erase the memory of a 66-51 loss to Plainwell back on Sept. 28. Dowagiac had 32 turnovers in the contest, many of which were unforced according to coach Greg Blomgren.
"Their pressure is more containment," he said. "We had a lot of unforced errors. We have moved some people around to handle the press. I think we will be much more effective against the pressure."
Dowagiac is playing well right now despite the loss of senior guard Holly Lowe for the past three games. Lowe is scheduled to return to the line up tonight after having a MRI and being cleared to play.
"Holly is going to go as long as she can," Blomgren said. "She practiced today (Monday), but she said her knee was sore, so we will see."
The Chieftains are the winners of four straight games heading into tonight's contest.
"I think we are playing better overall as a team right now," Blomgren said. "Even though Holly has been out, we have had to have other people step up and I think that has made us a better team."
Blomgren said that after looking back at the tape of the Plainwell game, he decided there is one positive that his team can take away from that meeting.
"Despite 32 turnovers, giving up a 19-0 run in the second quarter, we were only down eight points late in the game," he said. "As poorly as we played, we still had a chance to win the game. If we can clean up some of those things – take care of the basketball and make good decisions on offense – then it will come down to who makes the shots."
Blomgren felt like Plainwell had 15 to 20 extra shot attempts in the first meeting. If his team can get an equal number of attempts, then he thinks they have a good shot at winning.
"If we can make it about shooting the basketball I think we have a great chance to beat them," he added.
Dowagiac is led by junior point guard Katy Stuppy, who is averaging around 22 points per game in the Wolverine Conference. Stuppy is averaging 19.8 on the season.
Torie Lowe is averaging 13.1 points per game, while Holly Lowe is around 10 points per game according to Blomgren.
The freshmen basketball team will kick off the tripleheader at 4:15 p.m.
The freshmen will be trying to win their fourth game in five tries.
The junior varsity squad will take on Plainwell at approximately 5:45 p.m.
Blomgren is hoping for another large crowd tonight.
"The home crowd has been exciting and the student section has been more involved," he said. "Our girls have been feeding off of that energy. It has been great to see."