The Bowie Lady Rabbits stayed undefeated in district with a win at home against City View on Tuesday.
The Lady Rabbits blew the game open in the second half to win by a comfortable margin 74-51.
This wasn’t the typical Lady Mustangs’ team of the past. City View possessed several quick guards who caused Bowie some problems in the first half.
The Lady Rabbits’ full-court press and trapping defense forced some turnovers that led to points in the first quarter. Bowie elected to get to their spots and try to shoot over the Lady Mustangs zone defense. Some shots went in, but the Lady Rabbits also crashed the offensive glass for some easy points and multiple chances to score.
Bowie scored 22 points in the first quarter and usually would be in firm control of the game by the end of it in the past. This City View team punched back.
The Lady Mustangs were able to break through the press several times and create scoring chances with their speed. City View also did a good job of drawing fouls, with the Lady Rabbits picking up eight in the first quarter alone.
Bowie led after the first, but the Lady Mustangs were not far behind 22-16.
The second quarter was not nearly as explosive as the first was. The Lady Rabbits had fewer opportunities to attack in transition with City View taking better care of the ball.
Less shots from outside were going in and players were hesitant to drive into the paint where most of the Lady Mustangs defense was.
Almost all of Bowie’s good looks in the second quarter came thanks to the team continuing to grab offensive rebounds that led to free throws. Unfortunately, the team made only half of its 10 attempts and made only one field goal in the quarter.
City View continued to create chances on offense, making two 3-pointers and making their free throws to take the lead right before halftime 30-29.
The Lady Rabbits were in an unexpected fight and had to turn up their intensity after such a lackluster second quarter. Bowie did with its press.
Thanks to some minor adjustments and an increased emphasis to get after the Lady Mustangs ball handlers, the Lady Rabbits turned the game around.
Bowie caused several turnovers that stifled any offensive momentum City View had going. These turnovers led to some easy points which got the Lady Rabbits back the lead quickly as well and fueled their defensive intensity.
In the half court, Bowie also made the adjustment to place someone in the middle of the Lady Mustangs zone so the Lady Rabbits were not always attacking from the outside-in, but inside-out as well.
Everything was working for Bowie as the team trailing by one at halftime was now leading 54-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
City View’s points mostly came from 3-pointers in the second half, but were not making them at near high enough clip to keep up with the Lady Rabbits scoring.
Bowie was the aggressor for the entirety of the second half. The early foul trouble in the first half never became an issue as it was the Lady Rabbits now getting to the free throw line, missing only three of their 15 attempts in the second half.
Bowie’s lead kept growing as the game went on even when the bench was cleared and most of the starters were out. The Lady Rabbits made the final score the expected result as they won 74-51.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.