Behind a swarming defensive effort over four quarters and timely offensive runs, the Shallowater Fillies were able to sustain an early lead on the way to handling Dalhart 57-34 during a UIL Class 3A Division I bi-district clash at the Joe Lombard Gymnasium on Monday night in Canyon.
The Fillies (25-7) are headed to the area round where they will meet up with Tuesday night’s Presidio-Denver City winner at a time and place to be determined.
“We knew it was going to be tough to get this win,” Shallowater head coach Kurt Richardson said. “Dalhart does such a great job, and I thought we did a good job of taking them out of some stuff they like to do, and we were physical.”
Following a slow first quarter, Shallowater’s defense started putting the clamps down and the offense started finding a groove to open the second stanza. Up 7-2, the Fillies used turnovers to go on a quick 5-0 burst taking a 12-2 advantage with all the points coming from Carli Buckley.
Later in the quarter, Shallowater’s pressure continued to fluster the Lady Wolves, and that stellar defense turned into more offense. The Fillies put Dalhart in serious jeopardy going up 27-8 at the half, going on a 15-0 run with Linley Wright and Keelie Williams both leading the way.
“We weren’t great offense all night, but our defense made it really hard on them,” Richardson said. “We pride ourselves on defense and rebounding. Our goal was to take away Joie Read and Kammi Maddox, because they are outstanding. Again, getting those turnovers, and getting into transition set up the offense. We bought into that and stepped up and accepted the challenge.”
Dalhart (26-7) didn’t quit, making one final push in the third quarter. The Lady Wolves caught fire behind a pair of 3-pointers from Joie Reid, cutting the deficit at 37-25 to end the frame. However, Shallowater responded in a hurry, opening the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run to seal the victory.
“It was a big win,” Williams said. “Our defense was so good for us. We did a good job in the post and we forced a lot of turnovers. I feel that really helped us on offense. We were also able to knock down the outside shot when we needed to and it was exciting to get a gold ball.”
Williams led all scores, finishing with 18 points, knocking down four 3-pointers. Right followed with 16 points and Buckley added 11. Dalhart’s Read had a team-high 12 points with Kammi Maddox being limited to four points.