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"It wasn't real pretty, but it was a win", was a comment of Dodgeville girls basketball coach Mark Dooley following his teams 48-40 win over River Valley Friday night.
The win gave the Dodgers assurance of at least a tie for the SWC championship.
They have yet to travel to Platteville and play host to Richland Center to complete their league season.
The game didn't start until over a half hour beyond the regularly scheduled time due to a long Varsity Reserve game that the Blackhawks won 39-36 with the Dodgers only having four players on the floor at the end due to fouling out. Then the varsity contest was preceded by Parents Night festivities, with parents of players from all three high school teams being announced.
River Valley took the lead on the game's first basket, but by the time the first eight minutes had gone by the Dodgers held a 19-10 advantage - mainly on the strength of two three pointers and 10 points by sophomore Kara Crowley.
River Valley's zone defense kicked in and offensively they outscored Dodgeville 11-6 in the second frame for a 25-21 Dodger halftime lead.
The Blackhawk zone continued to give the Dodgers fits in period three as they were held to just five points. A driving lay-in by RV senior Molly DuCharme gave them a 31-30 lead going into the fourth frame.
DuCharme and sophomore Taylor Briehl both hit four points with junior Rose Askevold adding a bucket for their total.
That advantage was short lived however as the Dodgers jumped up 36-31 and never looked back.
Senior Samantha Crowley hit a three pointer, fellow senior Taylor Stanek went 5x6 from the free throw line, freshman Hannah Jones converted two charity tosses and Kara Crowley hit a pair from the line in that run.
The 11x12 from the free throw line for the Dodgers in that final frame put the Blackhawks away.
"Credit River Valley. Their zone gave us trouble," Dooley pointed out. "It frustrated us at times, but our pressure frustrated them at times too."
"We weren't sharp like we have been," he added. "We were off for nine days - we needed that game with Iowa-Grant Tuesday night that was cancelled."
About his team's free throw shooting at the end (11x12) and the entire game (16x18) he said, "We work on free throws in practice a lot and now we are more confident that when we drive we'll be fouled and we WILL convert the free throws."
"After getting behind at the end of three the girls showed a lot of resiliency," Dooley said. "In the fourth we did a better job boxing out, handling the ball and moving our feet."
River Valley coach Darby Blakley said, "We want to show that we can play with anybody and tonight I felt we did. What it boiled down to is that they made their shots when we didn't. We have some pretty good three point shooters and we didn't make a one. We had our good looks at them, but they didn't fall."
"I felt our defense played well and that we handled their pressure pretty well. We talked all week about playing with them and I felt we did - but moral victories don't add up to wins. So, we're on to our next game and will try to win that one."
SCORE BY QUARTERS
RV  10 11 10 9-40
D 19 6 5 18-48
RIVER VALLEY 40 (fg, ft, tp) Du-Charme 7-2/2-16, Mueller 2-1/2-5, Briehl 2-3/4-7, Askevold 2-0-4. Hoffman 1-2/2-4, Liegel 2-0-4. Totals 16-8/10-40. F-14 3-pointers: 0.
DODGEVILLE 48: Bauer 0-0-0, Stanek 2-5/6-10, Jones 1-3/4-5, S. Crowley 2-2/2-7, Stumpf 1-2/2-4, K. Crowley 5-2/2-14, Zoet 0-0-0, Cushman 0-0-0, Binsfeld 0-0-0, Pluemer 3-2/2-8, Chitwood 0-0-0. Totals 14-16/18-48. F-14. FO-K. Crowley. 3-pointers: Stanek 1, S. Crowley 1, K. Crowley 2.