Lady ’Dogs split first two games in Carthage

After this weekend, things are different for the Kilgore High School Lady Bulldogs.

The Lady ’Dogs, who were still participating in the Carthage tournament at press time (Saturday morning), will end their “preseason” part of their schedule — and it’s been a doozy — only to start District 17-4A play at Whitehouse Tuesday.

Games begin with freshmen girls at 5 p.m., followed by junior varsity and varsity.

The KHS boys don’t start district play until Jan. 3. There was no update on the Bulldogs at press time, but they will be home Tuesday night, beginning with freshmen at 5, hosting Tatum. That game is still scheduled, in spite of Tatum’s participation over the weekend in the Class 3A high school football playoffs.

Back to the Lady Bulldogs, who split their first two games in the Carthage tournament.

KHS lost to Shreveport Byrd in the first game, 41-29, then defeated Elysian Fields, 50-30. Late Saturday morning, the KHS girls were slated to face Captain Shreve, another Shreveport (La.)-area school, for third place in the tournament.

Against Byrd, Kilgore coach Tracy Kincade didn’t feel like his team played well. He called Byrd a traditionally-good Louisiana team, with state championships to their credit in the past.

“(But) we didn’t have much intensity,” he said. “Defensively we’re keeping ourselves in games. Shooting woes continued in this game.”

For Kilgore, Ashia Kelly had 11 points, four rebounds, four blocks and two assists. LaJohnna Woolridge had seven points, grabbed five rebounds and had three assists.

Also, Christina Mumphrey added five points; Tai’Shea Reese had four points and three rebounds; and Dareia Tolbert had two points.

The loss to Byrd broke a three-game winning streak for Kilgore — who then turned around and started another by beating EFHS by 20 points.

“We played well after a rough first half,” Kincade said. “Tai’Shea Reese shot the ball well and stepped up. Ashia was limited due to a box and one defense they played on her, but she did a good job of moving to let the other girls do their part. Our defense was awesome, giving up only 10 points in the second half.”

Kincade said his team still must shoot better from the freethrow line — they were just 5 of 16 from the line against Elysian Fields, or 31 percent.

Reese led with 14 points, six rebounds and four steals. It was the first time this season that someone other than Kelly or Woolridge has led the Lady ’Dogs in scoring in a game.

Woolridge, though, hit double figures with 13 points. She had five rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Kelly, while the focus of the EFHS defense, still had a good overall game, finishing with seven points, eight rebounds, three blocked shots, three steals and two assists.

Tolbert had five points, and Ashley Davis, normally a junior varsity player, stepped in and played what Kincade called some valuable minutes, finishing with three points, two assists and a steal. Jami Hein, Lakelia Williams, Mumphrey and Kym Daniels each had two points, as well, and Daniels had two steals.