The Dike-New Hartford girls basketball team will begin the postseason Saturday by hosting South Hamilton in a 2A Region 4 first round game.
Coming off an 8-14 regular season, the Wolverines will enter the playoffs with the momentum of Thursday’s 40-27 win over Sumner-Fredericksburg, capping off a rebuilding season. Head Coach Matt Dove says the progress throughout the season has been evident, and they’ll face a team in a similar situation.
“They do a lot of the same things that we like to do,” Dove says. “They’ll press you a little bit. They’ll play man and zone, just depending on who they’re playing against. So we’re definitely prepping for all the above there. But I think a team also, it’s kind of similar to us, just have some younger kids that have been playing, gained experience, but they also play a pretty tough schedule too. You look on there, you see West Marshall, you see Roland-Story, some pretty strong teams. So our schedule this week has been a little bit weird with games and then no school. It’s just that time of year where you kind of gotta be able to roll the punches a little bit. Excited for one more opportunity to play on our home floor, too. That’s always exciting.”
Payton Foster has led the Wolverines with 11.7 points per game.
South Hamilton (6-15) snapped an eight-game losing streak with Tuesday’s 57-21 win over winless Greene County. The team has shot just 26 percent, and no player averages more than seven points per game.
The tipoff will be at 7:00 p.m. and the winner will advance to Tuesday’s regional quarterfinal at Pocahontas Area.
Matt Dove interview:
