OLATHE – Starting the season without the services of senior standout Kylie Gatlin, the Dove Creek girls basketball campaign started on a bit of a flatter note. Ever since she returned to the fold, the Bulldogs have been on a full-force mission to make up for her lost time.
Included on that journey, Dove Creek earned the right to get a dose of vengeance against one of the teams that benefited from Gatlin’s absence – DeBeque, which scored a 41-38 upset of the short-handed Bulldogs in early December.
Dove Creek entered their district title matchup on Saturday against DeBeque with the full intent of making sure that lightning didn’t strike twice. The Bulldogs got the job done, cruising to a 55-19 victory over the Dragons on Saturday.
Dove Creek (18-2, 6-0 in 2A/1A San Juan Basin League play) has won 15 straight games and will host a regional site game in the 1A state tournament this upcoming Friday and Saturday.
Dove Creek’s last loss came in their Rangely Tournament trip against DeBeque, a contest where the Bulldogs had their second-lowest point output this season. The offense has been back in gear since the holidays, though.
Coach Julie Kibel’s Bulldogs team has piled up 55 or more points in four of their past six games, including a 64-25 throttling of North Park in the district semifinals. In that victory, Kylie Gatlin had 27 points, while sister Kalie Gatlin added 22.
The Gatlins enjoyed more modest numbers against DeBeque, with Kalie and Kylie accounting for 14 and 11 points, respectively. But it was junior Ralynn Hickman who led the way with 17 points.
While it took the Bulldogs four minutes to register their first field goal, their defense made life miserable for the Dragons, allowing just two first-half field goals. At the half, Dove Creek led 29-6 and cruised from there to another district title.
The Bulldogs move forward into the win-or-go-home phase of the season with the 1A state tournament on the horizon. Dove Creek will be one of eight host locations for first two rounds of the 32-team tournament.
Winners from each of the eight regional games will advance to Greeley to play out the final three rounds at Bank of Colorado Arena on the University of Northern Colorado campus Match 7-9.
Bulldogs junior Liam Hassell decided to save some of his best performances for when his team needed him most.
In the Bulldogs’ district quarterfinal matchup on Thursday night against Caprock Academy, Hassell poured in 16 points in a season-extending 36-33 win over the sixth-seeded Eagles.
The following evening, Hassell and the Bulldogs kept No. 2 seed Nucla in sight for the first three quarters, but the Mustangs made their fourth quarter free throws to defeat the No. 3 Bulldogs (8-13, 4-4 in league play) 55-42.
Hassell led the way with 13 points for Dove Creek, while classmate Sheldon Gardner added 12 in the losing effort. Nucla’s Hemmy O’Brien posted a career night, tallying 16 points.
The Bulldogs, who entered the weekend’s action as the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index’s 31st-ranked team in Class 1A, will now find out if they’ll get a spot in the field of 32 at state.
