BOSCOBEL - The Boscobel Girls basketball team kicked of the 2016-17 season by hosting the Cassville Comets last Thursday, Nov. 17. 

The Bulldogs entered the game hoping to avenge an opening season lost last year to the Comets. The Bulldogs got off to a good start, as Leah Wacker scored the first points of the season by nailing a 3-pointer from the left wing to put the Bulldogs up early.  The Bulldogs also got another early basket by Alyssa Davis to take an early 5-0 lead.

However, the Comets responded and eventually took the lead. 

There were several lead changes in the first half, but the Bulldogs ended the half on a scoring run and took a 24-21 lead into the break. 

The second half was more of the same, with lead changes as well as a change in the Comet defense as they looked to slow down Wacker after scoring 13 points in the first half. 

The Bulldogs defense was having a difficult time controlling Kennedy McMillan, the Comets center (18 points), as well as keeping the Comets off the offensive glass. 

After Bulldog Coach Jason Hill took a timeout, the Bulldogs went to a full court press in order to speed up the game.  

“I thought at that particular time we needed to change the pace of the game,” Coach Hill said. “If we could cause some turnovers and get a few lay-ups, we could put some distance between them and us.”

It appeared the move worked, as the Bulldogs found their groove and were able to hit some key baskets down the stretch.  Alyssa Davis and Danielle Ernst took advantage of the change in pace and hit some key shots to help the Bulldogs pull away for the 49-41 win, giving the Bulldogs a season opening victory. 

The Bulldogs were lead by Leah Wacker, who provided 17 points, including three 3-pointers.

“It was hard to know what to expect with the first game of the year, but Alyssa (Davis) had a lot of nice shots in the second half, and Dan (Ernst) gave them a lot of problems down the stretch,” said Wacker. 

“Davis stepped up in the second half after being saddled with two fouls in the first,” said the coach. “I thought she responded great after a tough start". 

Although the Bulldogs won the game, they lost the rebounding battle, which was a concern of Hill's going into the season.  

“I thought we did ok for our first game,” stated Emily Johnson. We need to keep working on pushing the ball up the floor and rebounding" stated Bulldog player Emily Johnson. 

According to Hill, the Bulldogs want to push the ball as much as possible this season. 

Others who scored for the Bulldogs include: Davis (11), Ernst (11), Johnson (2), Katelyn Wiegel (3), Hailey Bray (2), MacKenzie Fischer (2) and Treena Knowles (1).

The Bulldogs hosted the Seneca Indians on Tuesday, Nov. 22. They will host River Valley next week on Tuesday, Nov. 29. Varsity play gets underway at 7:30 p.m.