The Bowie Lady Rabbits played their second game back from the holiday break on Friday against Ponder.
The Lady Rabbits beat the Lady Lions 49-35 to head back into district play riding a three-win streak.
Bowie played Petrolia two days before in its first game back from break and while the team shot well enough to get the win, Coach Matthew Miller thought it was one of his team’s worst defensive performances of the season.
That was emphasized heading into Friday’s game.
It was a clash of opposing styles as Ponder had a big size advantage inside while Bowie was looking to push the ball with its guards and speed the game up.
Bowie was never able to get the pace up to what it wanted, but did control the game from the start.
The Lady Rabbits attacked the Lady Lions zone and were able to get some baskets off interior passes.
Other baskets came in transition as Bowie forced some turnovers and pushed the ball off of misses.
Bowie led 11-7 after the first quarter.
Ponder was able to use its length to get some hands on some passes on defense and scored on the fast break as well in the second quarter.
It was an even quarter as Bowie made two 3-pointers to keep its small lead 22-18 heading into halftime.
The Lady Rabbits got a huge boost as leading scorer Maddie Mandela, who was held without points in the first half, rained in three 3-pointers in the third quarter give the team a lift on offense.
Bowie’s lead was now double-digits 38-28 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Rabbits defense made sure to never let Ponder go on a good offensive run or get the ball inside on a postup without a fight.
Bowie was able to run away with the game as the Lady Lions were in the bonus early in the quarter and sent the Lady Rabbits to the free throw line a lot.
After attempting only four in the first three quarters, Bowie attempted six in the fourth to help run away with the win.
The Lady Rabbits won 49-35.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.