Lady Grizz middle school cagers finish season

The Rocky Mountain Middle School girls basketball teams wrapped up the 2024 season with the Big Horn Conference Tournament Saturday at home and a jamboree for the B/C team in Basin.

Hosting the conference tournament Saturday, the Lady Grizz A team placed fourth with a 1-2 record, beating Ten Sleep and falling to Thermopolis and Shoshoni.

Rocky beat Ten Sleep 33-22 in the first game Saturday morning at the RMMS auxiliary gym. Tied with the Pioneers 6-6 after one, the Lady Grizz outscored Ten Sleep 14-6 in the second quarter as eighth grader Sawyer Bassett exploded for 9 points. Rocky led 20-12 at halftime and 26-19 after three, then put the game away with a 7-4 fourth-quarter advantage.

Bassett finished with 24 points, and Taylor Grandalen added 5 points, Daizy Weinand and Kielley Brimhall 2 apiece.

“We got off to a slow start against Ten Sleep,” head coach Taylor Winland said. “Then Taylor Grandalen hit a three, and Sawyer Bassett had a great second quarter to get us going.  I think this was Sawyer‘s most complete game she’s had all year.  The girls really came together and played as a team.”

The Lady Grizz struggled to put points on the board in the second game Saturday, falling to eventual champion Thermopolis 43-14. Rocky trailed 12-2 after one quarter and 16-4 at halftime, and Thermop pulled away to win big by outscoring the Lady Grizz 27-10 in the second half.

Bassett scored 7 points for Rocky Mountain, Grandalen 4 and Brimhall 3.

“We knew the kind of team we were facing in Thermop,” Winland said. “This was our third time playing them, so we were pretty familiar with each other.  Thermop has a great team that was tough to stop. They went on to win the championship.”

Playing for third and fourth, Rocky fell to Shoshoni 33-27 Saturday afternoon. Rocky led 8-7 after one, but Shoshoni won the second quarter 11-4 and the third 9-3 to lead 27-15 after three. Rocky battled back in the fourth, outscoring Shoshoni 12-6, but fell short by six.

Bassett poured in 18 points for the Lady Grizz, and Grandalen added 8, Weinand 1.

“This was our third game of the day, and it showed,” Winland said. “The first half was slow for us. We went into halftime trying to gear up for the second half. We decided to go man, and the girls took it upon themselves and wanted to apply full-court pressure to Shoshoni. We ended up coming up short in the end, but the girls battled until the final buzzer.”

Jamboree

The Rocky B/C team split a pair of games at a jamboree in Basin Saturday, falling to Thermopolis 25-15 and beating Shoshoni 25-20.

In game one, the Lady Grizz trailed Thermopolis 13-10 at the half but were outscored 8-0 in the third quarter to trail 21-10. Rocky did win the fourth 5-4.

Lauren Hedges and Tianna Christiansen scored 5 points each for the Lady Grizzlies, Presli Moss 4 and Kate Crosby 1.

Rocky led Shoshoni 13-10 at halftime in game two and held on to edge the Lady Blue 12-10 in the second half to preserve the win. Crosby scored 9 points, Christiansen 6, Moss and Kinli Bitton 4 each and Millie Hanusa 2.

“The girls played really well in both games,” coach Julie Winland said. “Thermop was a little tougher, but we stuck with them. Against Shoshoni, all the girls played really well. They were driving in and finding the open lanes and taking good shots. I’m so proud of them for finishing strong.

“This was the most girls we’ve had out for basketball in a while. It is great to see numbers going up. Each team and player grew so much throughout the season. We as a coaching staff enjoyed coaching these girls.”