Coming off their first loss in quite some time, the Lady Bulldogs (14-2) responded with efficient play, as they visited the Wise High School Lady Pumas (15-2).
Wise outscored Bowie in the first quarter 16-10. Bowie senior Keyana Tate (10 points) scored 6 in the quarter, while senior Mya Dudley had 7, included a buzzer-beating layup.
In the second, after a three point play by Wise senior Kia Dawkins (6 points), the Lady Bulldogs finished the half on a 13-0 run. Senior (21 points) and freshman Ryan Maynard (8 points) hit back to back three pointers. Bowie scored again, and then Macklin followed suit with another trey and two free throws, to cap Bowie's run.
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Bowie head coach Michael Hines was impressed with his team's run, “The whole coaching staff has been preaching defense," he said.
"We thought that if we were able to make a couple runs, it would change the momentum and that’s exactly what that run did. We changed the defense up some and it changed the game and seemed to work.”
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Bowie led at halftime 27-19 and continued to play well, leading 37-28 going into the fourth quarter.
Bowie opened the game up into the fourth. The icing on the cake was Macklin hitting a layup while being fouled hard and completing the three point play.
Hines talked about his star player's performance, “She was huge tonight as usual," he said. "She doesn’t have to do a lot of scoring to do everything. She had been in a little drought, so this was a big game for her.
"She's just the heart and soul of what we try to do. I don’t want to take anything away from the other kids, but they're a great addition around her. She fights through it even though she's struggled the last few games, so its meant everything to us.”
Wise head coach Walter Clark showed his dissapointment after the game,“We got beat," he said. "The best team won. They played better and beat us in all facets.”
Hines was thrilled about his team's performance,“It was a huge win," he said. "To bounce back from a loss at someone else’s gym was great. We have a lot of respect for the Wise program.”
Bowie will play at Suitland Friday night at 7:15 p.m. Wise will take on High Point Friday at 7:15 at home.
