dewey girls defeat nowata; young doggers look to juniors for leadership
Dewey High School’s Presley Smith (11) attempts to get by a Nowata defender during action in Nowata on Dec. 6, 2024 in Nowata. The Lady Doggers defeated Nowata, 41-16.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Becky Burch
Bartlesville Area Sports Report
The Dewey Lady Bulldoggers, led by freshman Presley Smith, defeated Nowata 41-16 on Friday (Dec. 6) on the Ironmen home court. Smith, a welcome addition to the young team, put 16 points on the board, nine of those coming from behind the three-point line.
Dewey’s Jaelyn Smith scored nine, while Mylee Garrison added five points.
Nowata scorers included Maddie Smith with five, followed by Jalyn Trotter, Jayla Weirather and Hailey Gillman all with three each.
The Lady Bulldoggers third year coach Michael Sanders will be looking to his juniors for leadership this year - Chanley Herren, Kaci Swan, CJ Jones, Matney Epperson and Garrison.
“The past two years we’ve had a lot of growing pains from being so young facing other teams with much more experience than we had,” said Sanders. “Now I can see maturity and confidence that we lacked.”
He witnessed his team’s growth and hard work in their season opener in Sperry on Dec. 3, losing a close one in overtime, 43-38.
Dewey dug themselves into a hole in the first half, trailing 21-9. But after some adjustments in the second half, they were able to take the game into overtime.
“I’m super proud of my girls for showing some grit and battling back,” said Sanders.
This week, the Lady Doggers are competing in the Adair Invitational, where they fell to Adair 46-34 in their first game.
Nowata is hosting their annual Ty Hewitt Memorial Tournament this week.