The Quitman Lady Bulldogs’ hardcourt season came to a close at the hands of the Bells Lady Panthers Friday night in Kaufman. Bells topped Quitman 40-21 in the 3A D2 regional semifinal round. 

Quitman was faced with some tough choices while preparing for Bells. They needed to try to defend against their inside game and also generate additional possessions. The plan was to deny the inside game by use of a traditional zone defense and generate extra possessions with a backcourt press. 

On those two measures, the Lady Bulldogs were successful. They largely denied Bells direct passes into the posts and created a bucketful of Bells turnovers with the press. 

The loss came as a direct result of Quitman not being able to cash in on those turnovers, nor generate any consistency in the offensive zone. 

All tactics aside, basketball is still basketball, and one must score to win. Bells was able to overcome the Quitman defense and the Lady Bulldog press by dominating second-chance baskets, clearing the boards in the offensive end and employing a hounding man-to-man defense in the defensive end.  

It didn’t help that Quitman suffered in their shooting from the floor. It appeared as though the whole squad was streaming adrenalin as most shots went awry. 

The first quarter ended with Bells holding a 7-5 advantage. Both sides were unsettled at the start. 

Midway through the second period, Quitman had an inspired passage of play. Sadie Vander Schaaf fought her way through a Bells traffic jam at midcourt to pry free a loose ball. She found Allie Berry who finished and made the score 11-9, Bells.  

Quitman wouldn’t score again in the half. Bells finished the period on a 9-0 run featuring two offensive rebound put-backs and a steal and score.   

Bells started the third quarter up by 11 points and never led by less throughout the second half. 

The Lady Bulldogs came out and tried to attack the basket from the inside posts, but Bells was adept at playing sound fundamental defense. Stymied at every turn, the Lady Bulldogs resorted to 3-point shooting but never ranged-in from beyond the arc.  

Late in the third quarter, Quitman had another inspired passage of play. While their full-court pressure turned the momentum in their favor, they still lagged on the scoreboard. Bells continued to pull down offensive rebounds as the score differential escalated. 

Addison Sapp led Quitman with six points, Vander Schaaf and Berry added five each. Autumn Cason contributed four and Anabelle Popek chipped in one point.