As the 2020 basketball season gets underway, the Waldron Sr High Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs are just three games in and already proving to be stiff competition for their opponents. Waldron battled their first two games of the season on the road, first against Fountain Lake and then against Two Rivers. Each squad fell short in their matches with Fountain Lake but only by a few points. The Lady Bulldogs finished with a 37-33 final while the Bulldogs logged a 44-42 ending.
The quarantine bug has hit the Waldron basketball program pretty hard in their most recent matches and although it has caused some hassle for the Lady Bulldogs, it hasn’t been enough to deter the girls who have continued to compete their rears off. The Lady Bulldogs took a one-point loss in their game against Two Rivers ending with a score of 41-40. Kadance Espinoza brought in 2 points, 13 rebounds, and 1 steal. Hazel Buesing earned 5 points, 1 rebound, and 1 steal. Rheagan Sanford made 4 points. Jessica Ozuna got 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 steal. Hailey Stidman was the offensive head honcho securing 21 points along with 4 rebounds. And Summer Imperiali and Vivian Holmes combined for 7 rebounds.
For the Bulldogs and their faceoff with Two Rivers, the boys found their footing and gained momentum as they took home a 73-50 win. “Every player played with a lot of heart and emotion,” stated head coach, Joshua Brown. “We had tons of deflections and forced turnovers on the defensive end!” The Bulldogs snagged a whopping 40 deflections and 24 forced turnovers. Two players garnered a double-double in this game as Petey Justice scored 11 points and 12 rebounds and Caden Fuller made 12 points and 10 rebounds. Lidge Stinson earned 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 steals. Isaac “The Real” Villarreal led in scoring with 13 points along with 1 rebound, and 3 steals. Kason Moudy netted 8 points and 1 rebound. Ethan Mayberry got 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Trevor Hunt made 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. Trenton Hunt obtained 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 steals. Peyton Lipham and Forrest Efurd combined for 6 points and 5 rebounds. And Jacob Daggs acquired 3 rebounds and 2 steals.
On Monday, November 16, Waldron got the WAC hopping with their first home game of the season against DeQueen. The Lady Bulldogs were first to bounce onto the court and get things started. With players still absent, the remaining girls stepped up big time, playing lots of minutes and pushing themselves to the very end. Each Lady Bulldog that hit the court was quick to apply pressure to every Lady Leopard that came into view. And even though Waldron took a 49-45 loss, it wasn’t from a lack of trying. Sanford was on fire offensively as she secured 20 points with 6 of those points coming from 2 over the top three-pointers. Sanford also earned 2 rebounds and 3 steals. Espinoza made 5 points and 10 rebounds thanks to her faster than lightning rebounding skills. Ozuna picked up 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. Buesing made 1 rebound. Imperiali netted 2 points and 1 steal. Ward picked up 3 rebounds. And defensive dynamo, Hailey “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” Stidman, was fierce with 14 rebounds, 3 steals, and 9 points.
The Sr Bulldogs closed out the evening against one of the best senior boys’ teams DeQueen has had in a while. The Leopards not only play well together but they play hard and can score too. But none of that fazed the Bulldogs whose motto during the match was “anything you can do, we can do better”. “The Bulldogs had a nice win at home last night against a solid DeQueen ball team! Four of our guys scored in double digits and defense was all over the place. I’m proud of the effort these guys give each day. We talk about winning the day and they did just that! I love what I am seeing and when we return our nine other players, this group could be special!”
Helping to take the Bulldogs to a 62-43 victory against DeQueen and upgrading their record to 2-1 was Stinson with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 14 deflections, and 7 steals. Justice made 2 points. Daggs earned 1 rebound. Fuller netted 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 6 deflections. “The Real” Villarreal picked up 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 deflections, and 3 steals. Moudy got 1 rebound, 2 deflections, and 1 steal. Mayberry earned 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 deflection. Trevor Hunt got 4 rebounds, 2 deflections, and 1 steal. Trenton Hunt scored 16 points, 3 rebounds, 10 deflections, and 4 steals. Lipham made 5 points and 1 deflection. And Efurd got 1 rebound.
The Sr Lady Bulldogs will play again tonight at Magazine and both senior teams will take on the Lions at Gravette on Monday, November 23 starting at 6 pm.
Photo by Sandy Tull
