By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
The Rossville Lady Dawgs extended their winning streak to four games Friday night with a 54-39 victory over Abilene.
Abilene (4-14) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but Rossville junior Nora Burdiek quickly answered.
Burdiek scored on a layup, drew a foul, and converted the three-point play to put the Lady Dawgs on the board.
Moments later, senior Rylee Dick drove to the basket and finished to give Rossville a 5-4 lead.
After Abilene briefly regained the advantage, Burdiek sparked a 9-0 run, scoring the first points of the surge as Rossville built a 14-6 lead.
The Cowgirls added a late basket, but the Lady Dawgs closed the first quarter in control, 17-8.
Rossville opened the second quarter with two free throws to stretch the lead to 19-8.
Abilene responded by chipping away, outscoring the Lady Dawgs 9-8 in the period to cut the deficit to 25-17 at halftime.
“You know, teams really haven't pressed us all year,” Rossville coach Derek Dick said. “We generally handle the press pretty well, but we struggled with it tonight. I'm not really sure why.
"We have stretches where we look really, really good, but we also have stretches where we look sloppy and undisciplined. That’s what we’ve been trying to clean up, and tonight we kind of reverted back a little bit.”
The third quarter proved to be the difference. Rossville came out firing with an 8-0 run, highlighted by four quick points from Burdiek to push the lead to 33-17.
“They were starting to make me mad, and that makes me want to try even harder and do whatever I need to do to help us win,” Burdiek said of her aggressive play during the run.
Dick also came alive in the third quarter, scoring nine of her team-high 18 points during the period.
“We always try to play through the paint,” Derek Dick said. “Whether it’s throwing it inside to Nora, which is obviously a great option, or penetrating off the dribble and touching the paint before kicking it out. Our percentages are much better when we play through the middle.
"Teams scout us and try to prevent that, especially teams with length like Abilene, but we want to stay aggressive.”
Rossville carried a 44-26 lead into the fourth quarter. Abilene attempted to rally, but Dick hit an early 3-pointer and followed it with a steal and layup to extend the lead to 51-26, putting the game out of reach.
“We've been working hard in practice and everyone has been working together, bringing each other up,” Burdiek said. “I think that's a big, big part of it.”
Rossville (10-8) now turns its attention to a major challenge, a second matchup with Class 3A No. 1 Silver Lake (18-1) Tuesday at Rossville.
The Eagles won the first meeting 69-53 at Silver Lake.
“We just have to keep our momentum going into the matchup,” Derek Dick said.
“We just have to keep working hard and playing as a team, and we can beat them,” Burdiek added.
ROSSVILLE 54, ABILENE 39
Abilene 8 9 9 13 -- 39
Rossville 17 8 19 10 -- 54
Abilene (4-14) -- Herrman 20, Stover 4, Barbieri 4, Taylor 3, Crane 3, Crump 3, Pickerign 2, K. Stover 0.
Rossville (10-8) -- Dick 18, Burdiek 17, M. Sanders 9, Miller 7, Mitchell 2, E. Sanders 1, Bunck 0.
3-point goals -- Abilene 3 (Crump, Taylor, Crane), Rossville 3 (Dick 2, Miller). Total fouls -- Abilene 20, Rossville 15. Fouled out -- Crane. Technical fouls -- none.
