Lady Dawgs’ playoff hopes at stake Tuesday; Dawgs eliminated on last-second win by Wolves’ Owens

By TJ MAXWELL
Cove Leader-Press

The Copperas Cove Lady Dawgs took care of business on the road with a 47-33 win against Shoemaker on Friday night to set up a winner take all scenario against the Temple Wildcats tonight at Bulldawg Gymnasium.
The Lady Dawgs (8-7 in District 12-6A) host the Temple Lady Cats (8-7) for the fourth and final playoff spot representing District 12-6A. 
The Lady Dawgs fell behind early in a low-scoring first quarter before going on a 15-3 run in the second quarter to take a 20-10 lead into the halftime break.
The Lady Dawgs continued to pull away in the second half on their way to a 47-33 win. 
Cove senior post players Kaysha McCloud and Leah Powell combined for 24 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Lady Dawgs to victory, led by McCloud’s double-double of 13 points, 13 rebounds. Senior MJ Honea added nine points, four rebounds, and three steals; while junior AZ Knotts had six points and two assists.
The Lady Dawgs’ win, paired with a 47-37 Temple loss to Midway, set up the winner take all contest for tonight. The Lady Dawgs won the first matchup with Temple 61-53.
The Lady Dawgs will also be hosting senior night honoring the nine seniors (Honea, Livonna Wallace, Jolly Segrest, Kaysha McCloud, Tiana Barker, Deja Chapman, Leah Powell, Keana Garrett, and Jazzaree Jones.
The Bulldawgs suffered a brutal loss on a last-second score by Shoemaker’s Ti’Ajae Owens for a 64-63 Grey Wolves’ win at home on Friday. 
After leading 15-8 after one quarter and holding a slim 27-26 lead at the break, the Bulldawgs grew their lead to four, 30-26, but a three-pointer by Owens started and a traditional three-point play by former Bulldawgs junior K’Zjari Herrera ended a 12-3 run that gave the Grey Wolves a 38-33 lead with time winding down in the fourth quarter.
Basket by junior Alonnie Carter and senior Isaiah Sobers, a free throw each by junior Jon McDowell and freshman Warren Fleming helped the Dawgs narrow the lead to two, 43-41, entering the final period.
A basket by Cove’s Ellison knotted the game at 43-all to open the final frame and start an 14-4 run for a 55-47 Bulldawgs’ lead. A pair of baskets by senior Ahmad Pierce, along with free throws by Sobers and Carter, a traditional three-point play by senior Jerome Gaillard and a dunk by Pierce accounted for the Cove scoring.
The Grey Wolves responded with a 13-6 run to pull within a point, 61-60, highlighted by a steal for a layup by senior Marvin Galloway, a pair of free throws by senior Damond Daniels, a three-pointer by senior Nasir Kirk and a layup by Daniels.
A battle for the rebound resulted in Shoemaker’s Herrera getting a putback for the Grey Wolves to knot the game at 62-all.
A 1 for 2 trip to the charity stripe by Sobers gave the Dawgs the one-point advantage before the fast-break layup by Owens at the buzzer secured the win for the Wolves.
Four Bulldawgs scored in double digits in the loss, led by junior Lakyi Ellison’s 14 points. Senior Isaiah Sobers added 13 points, followed by Pierce (11) and Carter (10). 11 missed free throws by the Bulldawgs contributed to the loss.  
The Grey Wolves were led by sophomore Antwone Gonzales with 15 points, Owens with 15 and with 10.
The loss mathematically eliminated Copperas Cove from playoff contention with Temple (8-5) leading the chase for the final two spots, followed by Harker Heights (7-6), Shoemaker (7-7) and Belton (5-8) with just three games remaining and all four teams holding the tiebreaker over Cove. 
The Bulldawgs travel to Temple to face the Wildcats tonight before hosting Belton and Killeen to end the season.