Dolphins Victorious in Battle for Paddle
The games against Hatteras are obviously some of the most anticipated games of the season for the Dolphins, especially this game because it was the “Battle for the Paddle” – and Hatteras’s Homecoming. The Lady Dolphins will be defending the paddle, and trying to keep it in Ocracoke, and the Boys will be trying to take the paddle back as it was lost on a buzzer beater from last year. But this year the Dolphins had revenge in mind. To start off the game, the Lady Dolphins came out a little slow compared to what they usually do, but still found themselves up 14-7 after the 1st quarter. The lead was built up to 11 by half time.
The Lady Dolphins kept their lead, and would win the game 49-32, bringing the “Paddle” back to Ocracoke again! During the Boys game, with load and full, the boys came out a little “flat.” Good thing for Evin Caswell, as he scored almost all of the Dolphins' points in the 1st quarter. He did a very good job making up for the lack of scoring by me, as I was feeling weak for most of the game. (I was sick all week, and was even worse the day of the game.) Coming into half time, the game was close, the Dolphins were up by only 6. The crowd for Hatteras was very loud, as they have never won a game all season, and this was a game against us (their rival). But in the 3rd quarter, the Dolphins effectively woke up as a team and were dominating the Hurricanes – by the end of the quarter, the Dolphins were up 15 points.
The crowd was almost silent, in the 4th quarter the dolphins ran the clock and won the game 67-49. It’s safe to say that we spoiled their homecoming! And the Paddle is back in Ocracoke. This year, in all 4 varsity games against Hatteras, Ocracoke has won, and the closest game was an 11 point victory for the dolphins. The girls are now 7-1 in conference play and the boys are 4-4.
The next day, the Dolphins faced off against the Camden Bruins at home. The Lady Dolphins were looking to take another conference victory and improve to 8-1. In the beginning of the game Sydney Austin took a hard fall to the floor, and was out for the rest of the game.
After her injury, the Ladies played very well, it seemed as if they were playing for her and it showed as they were ahead 36-17 at half time. For the rest of the game, the Ladies kept up their dominance as they ended up with a victory 62-38. The boys were facing the best team in the conference, and had a big challenge ahead of them. The boys played very well but would fall to the Bruins 71-51.
The Dolphins were now 4-5 in conference play as they headed into the next conference game against Columbia on Tuesday. The next home game is January 27th against Gates County. Hope to see you there!
The middle school basketball teams play Mattamuskeet at home on Wednesday, January 21st. Go Dolphins!
