Lady Grizz clobber Greybull and Shoshoni, now 15-5

The red-hot Rocky Mountain Lady Grizzlies continued to roll along over the weekend, pulverizing Greybull and Shoshoni to improve to 15-5 on the season, 5-0 in the 2A Northwest.

Rocky had defeated Greybull in Greybull by just four points on January 24, 36-32, but on senior night Friday, the Lady Buffs were no match for the Rocky squad as the Lady Grizz won 49-21.

Rocky then won at Shoshoni Saturday, topping the Lady Blue 41-23.

The Lady Grizz traded baskets with Greybull in the first quarter Friday, leaving the score tied 9-9 at the quarter break, but Rocky Mountain turned up the defense a notch and outscored the visitors 15-2 in the second quarter to lead 24-11 at halftime.

Rocky coach Justin Moss said one of the keys for the Lady Grizz was controlling Greybull sophomore center Perla Rodriguez, who hurt Rocky in Greybull.

“Perla did some good things against us, and we wanted to make sure she didn’t have her way with us,” Moss said. “We were in man, and she scored the first 8 points, and then she finished with 11. We made some adjustments with our 1-2-2 (zone) and used some of our guards to help – doubling down and making sure she didn’t get the ball.”

Rocky outscored Greybull 9-3 in the third quarter to lead 33-14. Both teams were cold and turned the ball over in the first three minutes of the quarter, with neither team scoring, but Lauren Bassett broke the ice with a jumper and Brittly Boettcher scored on a power follow. After a Greybull three-pointer by Mataia Henderson, an inside bucket by Keylee Christiansen and a steal and score by Shelby Wambeke fueled a 5-0 mini-run to end the quarter.

“We got into our press in the third quarter,” Moss said. “We wanted to pressure their guards and keep it out of Perla’s hands. Obviously, when you make a couple shots you can set up your press.”

Rocky pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring Greybull 16-7 to win 49-21. Wambeke got the quarter going with two fastbreak baskets, and Boettcher converted a steal to put Rocky up 39-14. The Lady Grizz cruised from there.

“Our team has depth,” Moss pointed out. “We’re able to run eight different girls onto the floor and not really drop off defensively. We have more depth that most teams have at the 2A level. We just wear teams out.

“In all eight quarters this weekend we gave up no double-digit quarters, which was impressive. We’re the top rebounding team in the state, and I view rebounding as an extension of our defense. When we board, we’re tough.”

Moss noted that Bassett is the top rebounder in the 2A West, averaging 9.5 boards per game.

Bassett finished with 14 points, Wambeke 11, Boettcher 8, Christiansen 7, Tarynn Schoening and Halle Grandalen 4 each and Kaysie Cooley 1. Bassett pulled down eight rebounds, Schoening and Boettcher five each. The Lady Grizz finished with a remarkable 25 steals led by Wambeke with six and Schoening with five.

Shoshoni

Saturday in Shoshoni, the Lady Grizzlies outscored the Lady Blue 10-3 in the first quarter, then led 14-8 at halftime.

“We didn’t play a great first half,” Moss said. “We got into a little foul trouble and didn’t run our offense very well. We executed our offense much better and took off in the second half.”

The Lady Grizz outscored Shoshoni 17-7 in the third quarter to lead 31-15, then edged Shoshoni 10-8 in the fourth to win 41-23.

“We played well in transition and led 29-9 at one point,” Moss said. “We also shared the ball well in the half court.

“We did a better job moving the ball this weekend and spreading them out. We talk about attacking space – attacking gaps – and sharing the ball.”

Defense is a point of pride, Moss said.

“We hang our hat on defense,” he said. “We want everyone playing on the floor to do their job and do it well. We want everybody to have a piece of what we do defensively or offensively.”

Boettcher led the team with 11 points, and Bassett joined her in double figures with 10. Grandalen and Wambeke added 6 points each, Cooley 4 and Sharlotte Hanusa and Christiansen 2 apiece. Boettcher grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double, and Christiansen had six, Grandalen five.

“Shelby is playing good basketball. She had a great weekend,” Moss said of Wambeke. “Lauren is playing well, and Brittly is back to playing physical basketball.”

Regular season finale

Riding an eight-game winning streak, the Lady Grizz will travel to Thermopolis (11-9) Friday for the final game of the regular season. Rocky beat Thermop 50-40 January 31 at home and will be looking to sweep the conference schedule.

Tip-off times are 2:30 (JVs) and 5:30 p.m.

“They’ve been a little up and down, but they’re still ranked fourth in the state,” Moss noted. “We haven’t played our best basketball yet, but we’re seeing longer stretches of solid play.”