DOVE CREEK – The Dove Creek Lady Bulldogs have proved over the last four years that winning on their home floor just isn’t an option.
Cheyenne Wells and Lone Star found out the hard way, as Dove Creek put the squeeze on any thoughts of upsets coming from the No. 11 Tigers or No. 27 Longhorns during a regional sweep in The Dawg House.
Although they were tested in both their regional semifinal victory over Lone Star (55-39) and regional title matchup against Cheyenne Wells (41-31), much like they had been all season, coach Julie Kibel’s team found a way to win.
Leaning on junior Ralynn Hickman in the victory over Cheyenne Wells on Saturday morning, Dove Creek overcame foul trouble that plagued senior leading scorer Kylie Gatlin to persevere through the test posed by the Tigers. Hickman scored six of her 10 first half points at the foul line, aiding the hosts to a 24-13 intermission advantage.
Fifteen of their 24 points were earned at the charity stripe in a foul-dense opening 16 minutes.
Cheyenne Wells closed the gap to eight in the third quarter, making plenty of free throws themselves in a rally that made plenty of Bulldog fans uneasy. However, Hickman came through with seven more points in the quarter, including a 3-pointer to sustain the lead.
After Gatlin fouled out midway through the fourth, Dove Creek put the clamps down defensively, and sophomore Hadley Hatfield added a field goal to boost the lead back to double figures.
Hickman finished with 19 points to lead all scorers, while Kylie Gatlin accounted for 10 points in limited minutes. Tigers junior Paige Kyser scored 15 points.
Dove Creek (20-2) enjoyed a more balanced attack a night earlier against Lone Star, as sophomore Taylor Hampton broke out for 11 points in the middle two quarters to help the Bulldogs turn a 24-15 halftime lead into a 39-24 margin after three quarters en route to the opening round win.
Kylie Gatlin tallied 14 points to lead D.C. in scoring, while her sister Kalie added nine. Hickman and Hatfield scored nine and eights, respectively, and senior Halee Beanland added four points
With the regional sweep, Dove Creek closes out another home slate unbeaten, extending their winning streak inside The Dawg House to 38 games.
Over the past three seasons, they’ve turned the University of Northern Colorado into their home-away-from-home, and the Bulldogs turn their focus on making plenty more fond memories on their annual pilgrimage to Greeley.
Last season, Dove Creek took home a program-best third-place finish in Greeley. Once again, the Bulldogs are setting their sights on a deep run through the loaded field that will convene on the Bank of Colorado Arena starting Thursday.
In a season full of learning curves, the Bulldogs steadily grew throughout the campaign and showed their future prospects are very bright.
Their final outing of the season, a 62-19 loss to No. 2 seed Cheyenne Wells in the opening round of the 1A regional tournament, closed out an eight-win season in which the ‘Dogs (8-14) battled well against the San Juan Basin League’s top teams.
Despite losing senior leaders Aiden Chadd and Gage Buffington, Dove Creek is set up to contend again, bringing back a wealth of seasoned scorers next winter.
