Schools 
COPPERAS COVE — The Lady Bulldawgs didn’t shoot particularly well during their shootaround Tuesday.
It might be the start of a trend.
The Lady Dawgs hit seven 3-pointers — six in the first half — as they rolled past visiting Belton 72-46 to start the second half of District 12-5A play.
“If you would have told me that we would have shot the ball well tonight, I would have laughed at you,” Cove head coach Preston Flaniken said. “Because we didn’t shoot the ball well at all during the shootaround.”
Cove sharpshooter Jasmine Baskin led the onslaught with four 3s, while Jessica Best and sisters Alex and Sarai Rodriguez rounded out the seven treys. The Lady Dawgs (20-6, 5-3) finished 7-of-16 from 3.
It wasn’t just the long-range shots that were working for Cove. Twelve different players scored as the Lady Dawgs shot just under 50 percent from the floor. Baskin led with 20, while Traonna Shedrick added 12 points and six rebounds.
“We were just missing left and right during shootaround — maybe we need to do that more often,” Flaniken joked. “We got out and ran out lanes and were able to get good looks at the basket.”
It started early, as Cove led 23-5 after the first quarter. Belton’s Meghan Braeuer, who had a game-high 23 points, completed a three-point play a minute into the game. It put the Lady Tigers (8-18, 1-7) up 3-2 for their only lead of the game, as Best answered 15 seconds later with her 3-pointer.
Baskin missed her first 3-point shot, but nailed her next shot on the next trip down the floor.
The senior hit 3s on back-to-back possessions, the second making it 16-3.
“I can feel when I’m on my game and when I’m not rushing my shots,” said Baskin, who also added five of Cove’s 18 steals. “I just got out there and do my thing.”
Cove’s up-tempo game got the better of Belton, which came in trying to slow it down. The Lady Tigers committed eight first-quarter turnovers, including four straight to end the period.
“We had full intentions of not letting the game pace get fast, and we did (that) the first quarter,” Belton head coach Randy Bell said. “The game was up and down. And then not closing out and defense and getting there — of course, they were shooting lights out.
“I don’t know if they do that all the time, but if they do, they’re really good shooters.”
After the first quarter, Belton was able to get things going offensively. Dasia McCray scored 12 points, with 10 coming on looks right under the basket. Belton shot 31 percent, with only four players scoring.
“They were on, but we had things offensively that were right there,” Bell said. “Structurally, the things we had set up were there. We just didn’t make shots.”
