Skyline Shoots to Victory Over Bobcats

The Skyline Grizzlies beat the Madison Bobcats in the girls’ home basketball opener 67-52 on Tuesday night.

The Cats were led by Grace Dow’s 26 points and Charli Cook’s 9 points. It was a lifetime best point total for Dow.

“Grace was awesome,” said Madison coach Luke Sutton.

Dow usually faces a double-team on the low post, but Skyline played her with just one defender.

“The team just kept getting me the ball,” Dow said. And she just kept scoring.

After playing a close first half, Skyline’s open shooters pushed the Grizzlies to a 19-point third quarter lead.

“We need to hustle more, rebound and not lose our man on defense,” said Sutton. “But it’s still early in the season.”

In their first home game of the season after three on the road, the Bobcats started well. They traded baskets with Skyline for the first two quarters and played tough defense with a mix of zone and man-to-man schemes.

Madison trailed by four points at halftime. Dow led the way with 16 points, all in the paint.

In the third quarter Skyline made six 3-point baskets that included three in a row from sophomore Kysa Shippen.

At the same time Skyline’s full-court press prevented the Bobcat offense from running the court.

Madison only scored four points in the third and were plagued by turnovers.

Skyline used the Bobcat misses to transition up the court and find open shooter’s that drained the three’s.

The Cat’s just couldn’t keep up with the shooting of the Grizzlies. Madison did not convert a 3-pointer on the night.

“We just need to work on getting rebounds and boxing out,” Dow said.

Madison’s next game is Thursday at Shelley. The next home game is Saturday night against Bonneville at 7:30 p.m. The Cat’s beat Bonneville 46-41 on Nov. 18.