The Bowie Lady Rabbits closed out the pre-Christmas slate with a 70-61 win against the Lindsay Lady Knights on their home court Friday afternoon.
Despite the Lady Rabbits coming out on top in the high scoring matchup, it wasn’t all smooth sailing as changes in the Lindsay offense throughout the game forced Bowie to adapt their defensive strategy.
Lindsay’s full court press at the start of the game was aimed at getting the ball to their big post player, but Bowie was able to guide the press and hurt the visiting team as they ended the first quarter ahead 16-13.
The two teams matched each other point for point in the second with the Lady Rabbit’s taller players the only ones able to answer against the Lindsay defense as Aslyn Davis put up five points, Hope Howard, six, and Lexi Kirkham and Landra Parr, two each. However, the Lady Knights put up 19 points of their own to force the Lady Rabbits to head into the locker room at halftime trailing by one.
“We played sort of like our season has been. I think we were really up and down. There were times we did a lot of things that were good as a group and individually, but I don’t think we ever put it all together,” explained Bowie Lady Rabbits Coach Chuck Hall. “It caused the game to be closer than it should have been.”
The coach gave credit to the Lady Knights and their style of play.
“If you can handle their style of play you can score a lot of points, but if you don’t, they can keep themselves in the game because of their big girls,” explained Hall.
However, the Lady Knights had other tricks up their sleeves than just their size advantage. The Lady Rabbits focused on the bigger post players and were able to edge out to a seven-point lead with six minutes to go in the third quarter, but unfortunately it didn’t last.
Lindsay began shooting from the outside and Bowie’s Aslyn Davis, who was the second leading scorer of the night with 17 points, went out temporarily with an ankle injury as the Lady Knights crept back into the game, wrapping up the third quarter tied 48-48.
“When we got them down we had focused so much on their big girl, then all of a sudden they started making three pointers and outside shots so their comeback was not because of their big girl, their comeback was because of their guards. We had to stop and readjust again and play different defensively,” said Hall.
The game wasn’t doomed for the Lady Rabbits, who had something up their sleeve as well, and that something was Abbi Gamblin.
Coming from seemingly nowhere after not scoring a single point in the first half, Gamblin sank nine points in the third, including one three-point shot, and another 10 points in the fourth with her second three to lead the Lady Rabbit offense with 19 points. Together with a solid defense, the Lady Rabbits were able to cruise to the largest lead of the game and seal the win 65-59.

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