DOWAGIAC — When you struggle to shoot the basketball, allowing a team to score the first 18 points of the contest is a bad idea.

The Dowagiac girls basketball team found that out the hard way as it dropped a 43-17 Wolverine Conference non-divisional game to visiting Paw Paw Thursday night.

Just has it had in the season-opener at Cassopolis, the Chieftains could not find a way to put the ball in the basket despite getting good looks or layups.

As a result, Paw Paw outscored Dowagiac 18-0 in the opening quarter to put the game away.

From that point on, the game was fairly competitive with the visitors holding a 25-17 advantage in the scoring column.

Not only did Dowagiac have trouble again shooting the ball, but it also sustained several injuries to starters.

Hayden First, one of three seniors honored before the game, suffered an ankle injury before halftime. She would return in the second half, but would reinjure the ankle again in the fourth quarter, leaving the game for good.

Senior Madison Potter went down to the floor battling for a rebound with several Paw Paw players and banged her head on the surface. She appeared to be fine as she watched the rest of the game from the bench.

Both players are expected to be back for Tuesday’s road game at Benton Harbor.

For first-year coach Jason Turner, it is all about getting his young and inexperienced squad to understand the speed of the game. Right now, Dowagiac is rushing the ball up the floor and trying to get into its offense.

“I told them after the game that it eventually has to slow down,” he said. “It does not automatically do that for you. It is about what you do in practice. If you do not go game-speed at practice, and you come out here, the game is going to seem like it is going a million miles per hour, and it is going to affect you.”

With only three seniors on its roster, Turner and assistant coach Torie Lowe are going to have to get the team to come together as a group. The Chieftains will not be able to turn to just one player, who can carry them night after night.

Right now, Turner is looking for anything his team can build off of.

“It was 25-17 after the 18-0 start, so there is something positive we can look at,” he said. “But right away, we panicked at the start of the game because we were not going game speed, and we couldn’t do anything in the first quarter. It is going to take repetition.”

The Chieftains are hoping to get a win against Benton Harbor, which is 0-2 after losing to Grand Rapids Union and Kalamazoo Loy Norrix. The Tigers are the defending Division 2 district champion.