Dowse earns 200th win, Lady Indians start season 2-0

It was a sensational start to the 2019-2020 season for the LCHS varsity girls basketball team as Lady Indians’ head coach David Dowse earned the 200th win of his career and the Lady Indians began the season with a 2-0 record by defeating Chestatee and White County last week.
The week started with the Lady Indians traveling to Chestatee High School for their 2019-2020 season opener on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
The Lady Indians and the Lady War Eagles went back-and-forth through the first two quarters of the game, but Lumpkin would get a slight 30-27 lead by the halftime break.
The battle continued in the second half, but stellar performances by Isabel Davenport and Mary Mullinax  allowed the Lady Indians to maintain their lead over Chestatee.
Lumpkin would go on to win the game by a final score of 51-45.
The win marked number 200 for Dowse’s career. The milestone seemed to mean as much to the coach as it did to his players.
“It was exciting,” said Dowse about earning his 200th career win. “I know how hard the girls worked to get that victory, probably in part because they wanted me to get my 200th win, and that’s special. It’s special when you know that your kids are playing hard for you. For me, that’s what it’s all about. It’s about relationships. When you build a relationship when they are young like this, it lasts forever. To me, the wins are great and fun, but it’s the process and the end result of building relationships. That’s what keeps me going.”
Davenport led the Lady Indians’ offense with 19 points. Mullinax, in her first official high school game, finished right behind Davenport with 18 points.
Freshman Lexi Pierce contributed seven points, senior Madisyn Echols dropped five points and freshman Kate Jackson added two points in the season-opening victory.
The Lady Indians faced an even tougher challenge later in the week when they took to the road to face off with the White County Lady Warriors on Friday, Nov. 15.
The Lady Indians built a six-point lead over White County in a tightly contested first quarter of play to lead the Lady Warriors 19-13 headed into the second quarter.
The two teams continued to trade baskets in the second quarter, but the Lady Indians remained ahead 36-30 at the halftime break thanks in large part to a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Davenport to end the second quarter.
Davenport was a big contributor for Lumpkin in the first half of action between the two squads. Davenport scored 13 points in the first half to help the Lady Indians maintain the lead going into halftime, despite being double and triple teamed at times by the Lady Warriors’ defense.
Jackson, who was a beast in the low post and on the boards for the Lady Indians, followed behind Davenport with 10 first half points.
Mullinax also had a productive first half for Lumpkin with eight points.
In the second half, the Lady Indians would lose Mullinax to injury and would have to play the last quarter and a half without the freshman sensation.
Fortunately for Lumpkin, Davenport and Jackson continued to shine on the court in the second half against White County.
The Lady Indians extended their lead to 54-45 by the end of the third quarter and held off a furious comeback attempt by the Lady Warriors in the final quarter to emerge victorious by a final score of 73-67.
“I told the girls this, I’ve coached varsity football and at three different schools and I’ve been part of some wins that were bigger than this in the big scheme of things, but I’ve never coached in a game where the kids showed more toughness, grit and determination than tonight,” Dowse said after the game.
Davenport finished the game with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists to lead the Lady Indians’ offense.
“Isabel [Davenport] was out of this world tonight,” Dowse said. “She was double teamed and triple teamed and she was still scoring and still finding open teammates and for the most part not turning the ball over. She was phenomenal.”
Jackson finished right behind Davenport with 20 points, 23 rebound, two assists, a steal and a block. The freshman proved herself to be quite the handful under the basket on her way to a double-double.
“Kate [Jackson] played a tremendous game and was huge for us with her rebounding tonight,” Dowse said.
Makenzie Caldwell had a solid game off the bench for the Lady Indians, knocking down 12 points, pulling down nine rebounds and recording three steals, one assist and one block in the win.
Mullinax, who left the game early, and Pierce both finished the game with eight points apiece.
The win improved the Lady Indians’ overall record to 2-0, giving Lumpkin a strong start to the new season.
At press time, the Lady Indians were set to host the Chestatee Lady War Eagles at the Longhouse at the LCHS gymnasium on Tuesday, Nov. 19. No official results were available.
The Lady Indians will step back onto the court when they host the Banks County Lady Leopards at the Longhouse this Friday, Nov. 22. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.