Eddies eliminate Chieftains to advance to district finals

Published 5:18 pm Thursday, March 7, 2024

By Scott Novak

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DOWAGIAC — A scoring drought that lasted two quarters of the Division 2 Girls District semifinals sent host Dowagiac to the sidelines Wednesday night.

Edwardsburg was the beneficiary of the drought as it defeated the Chieftains 38-20 to advance to the district championship game Friday night against Lakeshore. The Lancers defeated Berrien Springs 65-23 in the second semifinal.

Dowagiac (15-8) led 6-2 as Faith Green and Rebecca Guernsey hit back-to-back 3-points after the Eddies scored the game’s opening basket.

The Chieftains would not score again until Maggie Weller hit 1-of-2 free throws with 4:34 remaining in the third quarter. By then, Edwardsburg (14-8) had opened up a 10-point advantage.

The Eddies would lead 26-12 after three quarters.

“Tonight, just wasn’t our night,” said Dowagiac Coach Jason Turner. “The lid was on the basket all night! We did a good job defensively and kept them under 40 like we were wanting to do. We just couldn’t get the basketball to go in.”

Both teams struggled offensively in the opening eight minutes of the contest. Dowagiac would lead 6-3 after one quarter, but trailed Edwardsburg 16-6 at halftime after being shutout in the second quarter.

“We had a very solid defensive game last night versus Dowagiac,” said first-year Edwardsburg Coach Tracy Bloodworth. “I was proud of the total team effort and the way we controlled the ball near the end of the game.”

Leading by 14 points to open the final quarter, Edwardsburg made sure there would be no Dowagiac comeback as Kourtney Zarycki scored five consecutive points midway through the fourth quarter to give Edwardsburg a 35-15 lead.

Bloodworth said the Eddies have their work cut out for them against Lakeshore Friday night.

Edwardsburg defeated the Lancers in the season-opener, but were forced to forfeit the win due to using a player more than five quarters.

“We will need to get back on defense because Lakeshore loves to push the ball and they are extremely unselfish,” she said. “We need to limit them to one shot (block out and rebound), and make sure that we crash our offensive boards, especially if we aren’t shooting as well from the perimeter

“They are quick and have a lot of weapons, but so do we. Last time we played, it was a game of spurts! They had one early and we had one late. Composure — taking care of the basketball and reading the defense will be a major key for both sides since we are battling for that District title!”

Turner, while disappointed with the loss, was not unhappy with the season the Chieftains turned in.

“I am very proud of this team and especially the seniors on this team and everything that they accomplished and did for this program,” he said. “I am going to really miss them but I know they are going to do some great things after high school.”

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