Lady Bulldogs slug way to win over Manti
Matt Harris
Staff writer
1-19-2017
GUNNISON—It was ugly, slow and painful but for the Gunnison High Lady Bulldogs, their rivalry match against Manti last week was a win.
In a game that featured 59 free throw attempts between the two teams, Gunnison took advantage of good foul shooting to down Manti at home, 38-29. Gunnison shot 25 of 38 from the charity stripe to compensate for only six made shots during regulation time.
The Lady Bulldogs’ scoring leader was sophomore Jaida King, who totaled 13 points to lead all scorers. The Lady Bulldogs held a steady lead over the Lady Templars from beginning to end.
While the foul-fest resulted in the majority of Gunnison’s offensive output, Manti could never take advantage despite 21 opportunities of their own, hitting only seven of their attempts.
Templar senior Leah Howe led her team with 10 points and was also efficient on the defensive end with five steals.
Take out the foul shots, and this game would have ended, 22-13, in Manti’s favor.
The actual result puts Gunnison in fourth place in region 15 standings at 2-2, 5-10 overall. They have won three of their last five after a six-game losing streak. Defense will need to step up to keep Gunnison riding solidly, as no other team in the region has allowed more points so far this season (181).
Manti now drops to last place in region standings with a 0-2 region record, 1-12 overall. The Lady Templars have not topped 30 points once in their last eight contests.
Gunnison will travel to play North Sevier tonight at 7 p.m.
Manti played North Sevier on Tuesday (score unavailable) and will host San Juan tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
