VICKSBURG — First-year Dowagiac girls basketball coach Jason Turner saw a vast improvement from his team in its 51-33 Wolverine Conference South Division loss to host Vicksburg Friday night.

“Last night, we played our all-around best game of the year,” he said. “Offensively, we looked to attack the gaps and did not stand still. We need to continue to have that mentality offensively.”

That aggressiveness on offense led to Allie Conner turning her best effort of the season. Conner scored 20 points to lead all scorers before fouling out.

The Bulldogs (5-5, 1-2 Wolverine South) outscored Dowagiac 17-8 in the opening quarter. The Chieftains (0-8, 0-3 Wolverine South) were never able to make up the ground.

Dowagiac trailed 31-18 at halftime and 39-20 heading into the fourth quarter.

As pleased as Turner was with his offense, he was equally displeased with the defensive effort the Chieftains gave.

“We can’t continue to give up these amounts of points,” he said.

Besides Conner, Hayden First chipped in with seven points.

“Allie had a breakout game offensively,” Turner said. “She needs to continue to attack like she did tonight. Hayden, Makayla and Greta attacked the gaps much more and opened up some shots for us. Our post players did a nice job getting into position and playing strong offensively.”

Dowagiac returns to the court Friday night when it hosts No. 4-ranked and Wolverine Conference South Division-leading Three Rivers. Tipoff is set for 5:45 p.m.

The Dowagiac boys team defeated host Vicksburg 57-50 to remain atop the Wolverine Conference South Division standings.

No further results were available at press time.

The Chieftains, winners of three straight games, are 3-0 in the South Division. Dowagiac hosts Cassopolis (6-1) tonight. Tipoff is set for 7:15 p.m.