Le Mars Daily Sentinel: High School Sports: SB-L upsets LCS girls in close matchup (01/08/13)

(Sentinel photo by Kent Jones) LCS' Emily Pick battles through the Warrior pack to grab a rebound in the Bulldogs' game with SB-L Monday at home. Pick led in scoring with 13 points for the Bulldogs.

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LE MARS --The Bulldogs led most of the way in their contest with the Warriors Monday, but the SB-L girls came from behind to take the win 46-41.

"We just didn't make enough plays down the stretch," LCS girls coach Judd Kopperud said. "We made some key mistakes down the stretch which ended up costing us."

The Bulldogs (3-8) built a 12-10 lead by the end of the first quarter.

(Sentinel photo by Kent Jones) LCS' Molly Renken drives past the SB-L defense in the close matchup between the Bulldogs and Warriors at LCS Monday. Renken scored nine points and grabbed 11 boards for the 'Dogs.

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They stayed in control and extended their edge to a four-point lead by halftime, making the score 23-19, Bulldogs.

LCS had a hard time stretching the gap any further. SB-L (4-4) closed the lead to two points by the end of the third quarter.

"They're a big, physical team, and they have a couple of nice, big kids," Kopperud said of SB-L.

It was 30-28 going into the fourth period with the Bulldogs still carrying a small edge.

The Warriors found their feet in the last quarter, scoring 18 points to overtake the 'Dogs, who scored 11 points in the final stanza of the non-conference game.

"We needed a couple of stops and we didn't get them, then we made a couple of key turnovers at some crucial moments. That was the difference," Kopperud said. "We got some good looks, but shots didn't drop for us. I'll give SB-L credit -- they made plays when they needed to and we didn't."

Trouble from the free throw line plagued the 'Dogs, who went 7-of-15 from the charity stripe.

SB-L's Miles Ludwigs led scoring for the night with 18 points. The junior also had 11 rebounds.

For LCS, senior Emily Pick led in points with 13 for the Bulldogs.

Senior Molly Renken added another nine points and pulled down 11 rebounds for LCS. Renken also logged three steals against SB-L.

Senior Ashley Phelan grabbed eight boards for the night and senior Mary Kate Eckstaine made three assists.

The Bulldogs next travel for a conference matchup at Storm Lake Friday.

"That will be a great opportunity for us to get to 4-3 in the conference at the halfway point in conference play," Kopperud said. "If we're sitting 4-3 in the conference, we're going to be right there to contend for third place in the conference. It'll be a big game for us."