Sulphur lost its final two games before Christmas break, as the Lady Dogs fell on the road at Byng and Pauls Valley.
The Lady Dogs (2-5) lost at Byng last Tuesday 59-29 before falling at Pauls Valley on Friday, losing 34-28.
“We had another tough week,” said Sulphur head coach Toby Todd. “We have struggled to score and have had way too many turnovers.”
Todd spoke about how his team is continuing to try and make things easier or better for themselves on offense.
“We have to try to find a way to score,” he said. “We are shooting bad percentages across the board. We have to find our groove and take advantage of free throws, layup and bump opportunities.”
The longtime head coach did praise his team for their effort.
“The girls have tremendous work ethic and great attitudes,” he said. “So we will continue to try and improve over the break.”
BYNG 59, SULPHUR 29
The Lady Dogs got down early and couldn’t recover in last Tuesday’s loss at Byng.
Sulphur trailed 17-4 after a quarter and 36-8 at halftime.
“They have two of the best guards in our conference,” Todd said.
Sulphur trailed 51-15 through three quarters, but did win the 4th, outscoring the Pirates 14-8.
The Lady Dogs shot just 30% from the floor, while Byng made 55% of its shots.
Sulphur had eight offensive rebounds in the loss, but turned it over 26 times.
Peyton Callen and Rasey Runyan each had seven for the Lady Dogs to lead in scoring.
Courtney Keith had five points and four rebounds in the loss, while Jayden Lee and Jessie Potter each added four.
PAULS VALLEY 34, SULPHUR 28
Sulphur took care of the ball much better in Friday’s loss at Pauls Valley, but the Panthers just kept the Lady Dogs at enough distance to hold on.
Sulphur got it as close as two, trailing 30-28 late in the game, but Pauls Valley made the plays down the stretch.
“We tried to limit our turnovers and we did, cutting down on those significantly,” Todd said.
Sulphur committed just 19 turnovers, but also forced 13 defensively.
However, the Lady Dogs continued to struggle from the line, finishing just 8-of-22 (36%).
“Free throw shooting was the difference in the game,” Todd said. “We missed way too many to have an opportunity to get ahead.”
The Lady Dogs had a chance late but could not convert.
“We had three pretty good shots to tie the game late and just could not get anything to fall,” Todd said.
Sulphur led 8-6 after a quarter but Pauls Valley took the lead in the late 2nd and never looked back.
The Panthers led 20-15 at half. Sulphur cut into the lead heading into the 4th, trailing just 24-21 through three quarters.
The Lady Dogs shot 25% from the floor but had another 12 offensive rebounds.
Lee had nine points and five boards on 4-of-7 from the floor.
“She played the best game of her high school career,” Todd said. “She and Kinzi (Adkison) did a great job against their run and jump defense.”
Runyan had eight points and nine boards for Sulphur in the loss, while Jadelyn Scheer and Potter each had four points.
“I thought Jessie Potter played really well against Pauls Valley,” Todd said.
PHOTO BY BLAKE SEALE
