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The Dupo Lady Tigers Varsity Basketball squad dropped another conference contest Monday night, losing for the second time this season to the Lady Meteors of Marissa 53-17. The Meteors, who are by far the best team the Lady Tigers have seen this year, sewed up the Cahokia Conference Kaskaskia Division Championship with an undefeated conference record of 10-0 and finished their regular season with a 22-4 record.
Marissa played the kind of game that Dupo Lady Tigers Coach Jill Puckett had expected. The Lady Meteors liked to use defensive pressure to create turnovers and they didn’t disappoint. The Lady Tigers have shown difficulty handling full court pressure in the past and Monday night was no exception. Rather than pass the ball down court the Lady Tigers tried dribbling through the pressure and found themselves double and triple teamed in traps, turning the ball over to the Lady Meteors. Early in the game Marissa failed to capitalize on the Lady Tigers mistakes but midway through the first quarter they found their touch and the rout was on. Marissa led Dupo 15-5 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter a few things became obvious. Marissa was as good as they were believed to be. The Lady Meteors defense smothered the Lady Tigers offense so effectively that the Lady Tigers didn’t score until the 2:37 mark in the second quarter making it 23-7. The Lady Meteors offense found little resistance from the Lady Tigers defense as they outscored Dupo 12-4 in the second quarter to take a 27-9 lead at the half.
Despite wholesale substitutions by the Lady Meteors in the second half Marissa maintained their lead as they outscored the Lady Tigers 26-8 in the second half to win the game 53-17. The continued dominance of Marissa over Dupo seemed to take a toll on the Lady Tigers who have suffered through a long season filled with low numbers, injuries and off court issues. Dupo seemed frustrated and it was affecting their play and their attitude as Lady Tigers Coach Jill Puckett fought to keep her team hustling and working despite the score.
The Dupo Lady Tigers lone bright spot was the play of senior center Margaret Davenport who scored 10 points and played well under the basket against the Lady Meteors. The loss dropped the Lady Tigers record to 4-14 and 2-8 in the conference. However, the Lady Tigers have an opportunity to add a couple of wins to their record this week as they travel to face the Lady Cougars of Affton (10-10, 1-3) on Wednesday and the Roxana Shells (3-19, 1-5) on Thursday. The Lady Tigers will then travel north to Bunker Hill next week as they face the Lady Wildcats of Mt Olive (6-12, 0-4) in the first round of the IHSA Class A Regional.
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