---

Mineral Point couldn't have asked for a better start to its opening game of the 2014-15 season Friday night as Dodgeville came to town.
But the Dodgers couldn't have asked for a much better performance at the free throw line.
Dodgeville went 26 of 31 from the charity stripe, which helped the visitors win a close battle 54-49 in non-conference girls basketball action.
Mineral Point bolted out of the gate with a 10-0 run that featured two three pointers from Sydney Staver, along with four points courtesy of Clara Chambers. The Dodgers got their first field goal of the game at the 2:40 mark on a hoop from Hannah Jones and held the Pointers scoreless over the final 2:22 to pull within 15-8 at the end of one.
The Pointers again extended their lead to double digits to start the second quarter behind hoops from Staver and Chambers, but after Staver picked up her third foul at the 3:24 mark, the Dodgers took advantage of her absence and claimed the lead at 23-22 on a bucket by Kennedy Stumpf with 2:16 remaining until half. Scoring was at a premium the final two minutes until Pointer Natalie Chubb tallied two points with 17 seconds left, and two free throws from Jones gave the Dodgers the lead at the break 25-24.
An old-fashioned three point play from Taylor Stanek ignited the Dodger crowd following halftime. Staver again went to the bench after picking up her fourth foul at the 6:25 mark, but the Pointers hung tough in her absence. The hosts compiled a 5-0 run while getting Stanek to tally her fourth foul and hold the Dodgers scoreless for four minutes until Mariah Zoet's hoop with 17 seconds left got Dodgeville within 37-36 entering the fourth.
It was Point's turn for the scoring drought to start the fourth as Dodgeville went on a 5-0 run before Staver drained her third triple of the night at the six minute mark. A big momentum shift was a three point play from Stanek that saw Destinee Kruser foul out. Still, the Pointers never said die and got within 52-49 thanks to back to back baskets from Staver and Chambers. Dodgeville was able to run the clock down before the Pointers finally fouled with two seconds remaining and Kara Crowley hit both charity tosses to ice the win.
Jones was the top Dodger with 17 points. Kara Crowley joined her in double digits with 10.
Staver led the way for Point, also with 17 points. Chambers was right behind her with 16.
The win moved Dodgeville to 2-0 on the young season well Point fell to 0-1.
"If you would've asked me during that first quarter which team had already played a game, I would've said it was us," said Pointer coach Mitch Wainwright. "We played really well to start with, but they made a run at us yet in the first half and I think we panicked."
"In the second half, we tried to force some things, and ended up throwing the ball away too much. I don't think we were ready to play at the tempo Dodgeville came at us with."
"Having Sydney on the bench with foul trouble was huge for us tonight, but I think it didn't hurt us as bad as I thought it would. Natalie gave us a spark at the end of the third when she took some tough hits and cashed in on three of her four free throws. We got some good looks tonight, especially underneath, but we couldn't finish," added Wainwright.
"Not counting the first four or five minutes, I thought we played great basketball tonight," said Dodger coach Mark Dooley. "Mineral Point is a very good basketball team. Both of us have a lot of youngsters."
"We're not a big team, but we're fast. We switched up some defenses on them early. We're still trying to figure out the new system. Coach Josh Busch did a great job with these girls the last few years."
"I thought my seniors Samantha Crowley, Taylor Stanek, Claire Binsfield, and Ashley Chitwood all did a great job tonight. Samantha is like a coach on the floor for me out there."
"Having already played a game I think helped us a little. We played better tonight--we rebounded better and shot free throws better, so it's good to see that improvement after just one game," said Dooley.
The Pointer girls played at River Valley Tuesday, November 25 while Dodgeville played at Riverdale.
The Pointers will host Barneveld Monday, December 1 with the Dodgers hosting Darlington Tuesday, December 2.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
D: 8-17-11-18--54
MP: 15-9-13-12--49
BOX SCORE
DODGEVILLE (fg-ft-tp) 54: Stanek 3-3/4-9, Jones 4-9/11-17, S. Crowley 1-2/4-4, Stumpf 1-4/4-6, K. Crowley 1-8/10-10, Zoet 1-0-2, Binsfield 1-0-2, Pluemer 2-0-4. Totals: 14-26/31-54. Fouls: 22.
MINERAL POINT 49: Staver 6-2/3-17, Chambers 7-1/2-16, Chubb 1-3/4-5, Qualley 0-1/3-1, Pilling 2-0/2-4, Kruser 0-2/4-2, Schultz 2-0/2-4. Totals: 18-9/20-49. Fouls: 23. Fouled out: Kruser. Three pointers: Staver 3, Chambers 1.