On their first playoff trip in a decade, the Quitman Lady Bulldogs’ shooting was as cold as the frigid north winds outside, falling to DeKalb 41-28 in a bi-district game at Prairieland. 

Down 23 points at one time, the Lady Bulldogs caught fire and roared back in the final quarter to give the Lady Bears a scare. The DeKalb full-court press gave the Lady Bulldogs fits in the first three quarters as the Lady Bears built a 36-13 lead.

The Quitman defense played tough the entire game, and the offensive game came around in the final eight minutes. The Lady Bulldog defense forced DeKalb into 31 turnovers. DeKalb caused enough problems to score 22 points from Quitman turnovers in the first three quarters.

Quitman Head Coach Blake Hamrick said, ”I am so proud of the girls and team for the growth we have shown this year. We really came together and were able to make huge strides the last couple of months. Obviously, it’s hard to lose a game against a team like DeKalb that you felt like you could beat, and it was on a night when we didn’t have our best game. But just to be in that position and have the chance, is more than those girls have ever had and I couldn’t be more proud. We will miss our seniors Kynlee (Love) and Lindsey (Hornaday) and are thankful for their commitment to the program, and we will continue to build with the underclassmen in the years to come.”

DeKalb took an 8-0 first quarter lead until Maddy Pence put in a bucket at the buzzer to make it 8-2. In the second quarter, a Kynlee Love three-point shot cut the Lady Bear lead to 14-7. Sparked by a pair of triples by DeKalb’s Anijah Gray, DeKalb led at intermission 25-11.

Quitman came out for the second half with Lindsey Hornaday hitting a basket, cutting the lead to 25-13. Quitman went cold again and did not score again in the third quarter as the Lady Bears took a 36-13 lead into the final frantic eight minutes.

Quitman’s defense started forcing DeKalb into numerous turnovers. Addison Marcee, Carley Spears, Reiny Luman and Kaysi Parker came off the bench and played great defense. Hornaday led the overall defensive charge, recording four steals while Pence, Parker and Ashley Davis each had three.

DeKalb led 39-20 when Quitman started closing the gap as Pence and Hornaday hit from short range while Spears and Davis made three-point shots, but time ran out on the game and on the season for the Lady Bulldogs.

The last Lady Bulldog team to make the state playoffs was when new Athletic Director Shane Webber was coaching girl’s basketball a decade ago at Quitman.

DeKalb held Ava Burroughs in check offensively with the junior post scoring two points. Burroughs did her part defensively, hustling and diving for loose balls while recording a team high 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.  Pence led the scoring with eight points with Love adding seven, Hornaday and Davis with four each and Spears three.

The future looks bright for Lady Bulldog basketball. They do lose Hornaday and Love, who have each played at the varsity level their entire high school years. Coming back next year are juniors Burroughs, Spears and Luman; sophomores Pence and Parker; and freshmen Davis and Marcee.