Dresden, Gleason girls travel opposite paths

By RANDY CAVIN
Press Sports
The Dresden girls earned a title shot, while Gleason must settle for a consolation prize.
The Lady Lions made a return trip to the District 13A Tournament finals after defeating Big Sandy 45-26 in Thursday’s semifinal round behind a good defensive effort. Dresden got a shot at Huntingdon after the Fillies beat the Lady Bulldogs 46-31 in the other semifinal game.
Dresden 45, BS 26
It was not pretty, but a win is a win and the Lady Lions will take a win any way they can get it in the District 13A Tournament.
The offense might not have been clicking on all cylinders, but the defense did its job in holding the Lady Red Devils to a mere 11 points in the second half while only scoring 20. 
Jessica Jones scored a game-high 14 points, and the defense forced Big Sandy into 28 misfires and 22 turnovers. Dresden hit 21-of-30 free throws, including seven in the fourth period to ice it.
“This time of the year, it is not about style points but about being ahead at the end, even if it is only by one point when that buzzer goes off,” Lady Lions skipper Jonathan West said. “We struggled, but I thought we played tight, especially early. We defended well, and they only scored 26 points. When you do that, you give yourself a chance to win.”
Dresden is 23-6 while Big Sandy is 17-11.
Dresden only sent Big Sandy to line for nine free throw attempts, preventing the Lady Red Devils from scoring easy baskets while stopping the clock.
“That is one thing we talked about,” West said. “The other night in their game against West Carroll, they shot 39 free throws. Two players shot 27 of those 39. Our deal was to challenge shots, but do not put them on the line and bail them out.”
H’don 46, Gleason 31
The Lady Bulldogs lost out on their right to play Dresden for the district title Thursday night after a poor shooting performance and a strong inside game by the Fillies.
The Lady Bulldogs only scored 10 points in the paint, while the Fillies capitalized on their inside game with 30 points in the paint along with 33 rebounds, including eight offensive boards.
Briana Jones led Gleason with 12 points. But they did not come easy for her as Huntingdon played tight coverage on Jones for the entire game.
Huntingdon outscored Gleason 6-4 in the first, 12-7 in the second and 12-5 in the third periods before the Lady Bulldogs got their offense on track in the fourth with 15 points.
Alex King was second in points for Gleason with eight points. Published in The WCP 2.21.12

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