Lady Demons Downed by McPherson in Turnover Filled Opener

DODGE CITY, Kan. – McPherson’s press forced 30 turnovers as the Lady Bullpups rolled to a 52-24 season opening victory over Dodge City at the Cowboy Capital Classic.

The Lady Bullpups enter the season as one of the favorites in Class 4A after a state runner-up season last year. McPherson posted a 22-3 record but ended up falling to Bishop Miege in the state championship game. The team lost leading scorer Jordan Sears as well as two other seniors after last season but still boast a talented group of players led by senior Karter Alvord.

Dodge City enters the season after a somewhat disappointing ’22-23 season that ended with a 10-11 record. The team lost a handful of seniors including leading scorer Becca Unruh. The Lady Demons are a young team with just two retuning seniors, Ashlyn Lembright and Easha Potts.

The game started rough for Dodge despite scoring the opening basket of the game. The Lady Bullpups dominated the opening frame behind their signature press which the young backcourt for the Demons couldn’t handle. McPherson forced 14 turnovers in the first quarter and allowed only three Demon points while shooting 63.6 percent on the offensive end to open up a 21-3 lead after eight minutes.

The Demons were able to cut it to 12 at one point during the second quarter as Potts and Lembright generated most of the offense for Dodge City but McPherson ended the period with a big run that saw the lead balloon to 21 for the Bullpups by halftime.

Not much changed in the second half as Dodge City continued to struggle to hold onto the basketball while Alvord heated up from outside, knocking down four second half threes to bury the Demons. Alvord, who finished with 26 points, made six total threes in the game and was the only McPherson player to crack double digit points.

Dodge City struggled significantly again in the fourth quarter, scoring just four points as the Bullpups piled onto the lead and ended up coming away with a 52-24 win at the Dodge City Civic Center.

Outside of Alvord, McPherson got strong performances from freshman Jaela Thompson who scored nine points in her high school debut and Jayla McLeod who tallied six points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Potts was the one main bright spot for the Demons as she posted a 13 point, 11 rebound double-double. Dodge City had only four players find the scoresheet in the game and they lost the rebound battle 34-25.  The main issue was the turnovers though, as McPherson turned 30 Dodge City giveaways into 24 points.

The Lady Demons fall to 0-1 with the loss, their next game will be Friday when they take on Manhattan on the road. The game will be broadcast live on Z98 at 6 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning at 5:40.