CRESWELL – After losing their first battle against Coquille to open the season, the Creswell Bulldogs girls avenged that loss Saturday night, winning 61-41 to advance to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs. According to head coach Tyler Hollingsworth, the win was a testament to how far the team has come since their first game.
“It’s super sweet. I’ll lose the first one if I can get the last one going to state every time,” Hollingsworth said. “We knew they were going to be tough. To me it’s kinda one of those tests, when both teams have the rest of the season to prepare. (It shows) maybe just how much better our girls got.”
How’s this for better? The Bulldogs never trailed in the game, thanks to players’ high intensity on defense, the coach said.
“We really emphasize our defense. We said today is going to be a battle of defensive effort,” Hollingsworth said. “I said, ‘They’re going to be gritty and they’re gonna be physical, but let your defense dictate the game, and the offense will come.’”
The offense came in the form of junior guard Dakota Carson, scoring 20 points.
“She’s huge for us,” Hollingsworth said. “She puts in work every day for an hour in the morning before school starts. You don’t know when the moment is coming for that to pay off, but I thought tonight was a big night for that.”
The Bulldogs face Sutherlin on Thursday at 8:15 p.m at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay. For Hollingsworth and the Bulldogs, it’s an opportunity to showcase their strengths.
“They’re big, so we have to use our speed and athleticism to our advantage. We have to try to make the game faster and not so half-court (focused) because they have two bigs that are gonna be hard to deal with.”