Lady Bulldogs Fast Start Too Much for Lady Rams in Home Opener

Turnovers plague the Lady Rams, as they fall to the South Suburban College Lady Bulldogs 97-69, starting off the season 0-2.

The Lady Bulldogs were on the attack early, forcing Coach Smith to call a timeout just two minutes into the game to try and stop the Lady Bulldogs' 7-0 run that they started the game on.

After the timeout Lady Rams center Micah McNeil dropped in an easy layup to get the team on the board. However, the Lady Bulldogs were firing on all cylinders, connecting on four first-quarter 3-pointers, jumping out to a 17-4 lead with a little over four minutes remaining in the quarter. The Lady Rams were able to close the quarter out very nicely, playing better defense and getting better shots to enter the second quarter down 25-13.

Lady Rams setting up their offense before McNeils first points of the day

The Lady Rams played inspiring defense to start the second quarter, coming up with 4 defensive stops in a row, but were not able to capitalize on the offensive end. Things began to go South Suburban’s way as they continued their strong shooting performance and swarming team defense, as they completely neutralize the Lady Rams' offense, not allowing them to score their first points of the second quarter until the 5:50 mark.

Going into halftime the Lady Rams found themselves trailing 39-23.

Smith was pleading for someone to step up and be a leader. She also said that they need to cut out giving up easy layups and limit the opposing team from getting to the basket as easily as they were.

Kaylee Morales responded to Smith's challenge and started the second half playing extremely hard. She fought for two offensive rebounds and scored four of her eight total points in the third quarter alone. The rest of the Lady Rams caught on to her aggressive play, and they were able to enter the Bonus with five minutes left in the third.

Morales at the line trying to convert free throws

The Lady Rams displayed their best performance in the third quarter, but they still found themselves behind 55-35 going into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter mimicked the second as the Lady Rams had a tough time getting shots to fall and were held scoreless for four minutes. The Lady Bulldogs forced two turnovers in the quarter and converted a transition three and layup.

The Lady Bulldogs' fast style of play combined with their fundamentally sound defense was too much for the Lady Rams to handle, as they only were able to manage to score five points in the fourth quarter. South Suburban played to the very last whistle, not letting up, and kept applying the pressure, as the Lady Rams fell 77-40.