The Lady Tigers saw their passing lanes get shut down and their offense get smothered when they hosted the Lady Wolves of Buford on Friday, Jan. 31.

The suffocating defense of Buford allowed the Lady Wolves to earn a lopsided 59-23 victory over Dawson.

The Lady Wolves defense tightened the clamps on Dawson from the start of the game. The stifling defense smothered the Lady Tigers, as Buford caused turnover after turnover while going on a 16-0 run to start the game. Dawson struggled to get the ball past half court for the majority of the first half.

We never could get anything going tonight, said Steve Sweat, DCHSs head girls basketball coach.

The Lady Tigers were outscored 33-13 in the first half, putting them in a deep hole that they were never able to dig their way out of.

The recent winter weather may have contributed to the lackluster performance of the Lady Tigers. With school being cancelled for four of five days last week, Dawson was not able to get into the gym for practice time for the majority of the week.

Ashley Parker led the Lady Tigers in scoring with 10 points. Karlie Bearden contributed five points and pulled down nine rebounds for Dawson. Haley Burgess rounded out the top three scorers for the Lady Tigers with her three points.

The loss gives the Lady Tigers a 15-7 overall record and a 6-5 region record.

The Lady Tigers have three games left in the regular season. Two of the three games will be played on their home court. With few games left, the Lady Tigers look to make the needed adjustments in order to make a run in post season play.

Dawson will lace up and take to the court in hopes of reversing their fortunes when they host West Hall on Friday, Feb. 7.