Lady Grizz miss third at State on buzzer-beater

It just wasn’t to be for the Rocky Mountain Lady Grizzlies at State as they played strong basketball in three games but came away with a 1-2 record.

The Lady Grizz opened with a nail-biter against Wright Thursday morning and prevailed 48-47 on the strength of free-throw shooting. They then met familiar rival Wyoming Indian in the semifinals Friday afternoon and fell in a back-and-forth contest, 48-43.

Playing for third Saturday morning, the Lady Grizz led for most of the game and appeared to have the game won against conference foe Thermopolis but fell on a three-point buzzer-beater, 41-40.

Wright

Whew! That was the almost audible reaction of the Rocky Mountain faithful when the Lady Grizzlies pulled out the 48-47 win over Wright in the first round Thursday morning at Casper College.

Rocky had defeated Wright 63-38 on the first weekend of the season back in December, but it was a completely different story Thursday as the Lady Grizz, the top seed out of the west region, had a difficult time with Wright, the fourth seed out of the east. Rocky’s largest lead in the first half was two at the end of the first quarter, while Wright led by five points twice in the second quarter.

Then when the Lady Grizz asserted themselves in the third quarter and built an eight-point lead, Wright sharpshooter Anaeli Salas went off, hitting three consecutive three-pointers to pull Wright back into the game. Wright re-took the lead, but Rocky hit free throws down the stretch to win.

Indeed, foul shooting was the difference in the game as the Lady Grizzlies hit 15 of 18 free-throw attempts, while Wright was just 6-15 at the line. Rocky hit six of eight free throws in the fourth quarter including six in a row to close out the game.

The Lady Grizz were well aware of Salas coming into the game, but she had a way of getting open and knocked down a trey to start the game. Brittly Boettcher responded with a long bomb of her own for Rocky, and the game was tied 3-3, then 5-5, 7-7 and 9-9 before a drive by Shelby Wambeke put the Lady Grizzlies up 11-9 after one.

The second Salas trey of the game launched a 9-2 run for Wright early in the second quarter to put the Lady Panthers up 18-13, but Rocky responded with a 6-0 burst to lead 19-18, only to see Wright score the final four points of the quarter to lead 22-19 at halftime.

After Wright converted a turnover for a 24-19 lead early in the third quarter, the Lady Grizz outscored the Lady Panthers 18-5 to lead 37-29 before Salas knocked down a trey at the buzzer to keep Wright in the game trailing 37-32 with one quarter to play. Junior Lauren Bassett scored 8 points during the run, Kaysie Cooley 5 and Wambeke 4.

“We were up by eight and had started taking control of the game,” Rocky coach Justin Moss said of the 37-29 lead. “Our press had started paying off, and then Salas hit a three from about 25 feet, and that got them right back into the game. She hit five of seven three-pointers. We were prepared for that, but we didn’t expect five for seven.”

Tarynn Schoening matched a Salas three-pointer with one or her own early in the fourth quarter, but multiple empty possessions by the Grizz allowed Wright to battle back, tie the score 40-40, then build a 46-42 lead with 1:24 to play. Junior Keylee Christiansen executed a baseline power move to cut the deficit in half with just over a minute to play, and Wright hit one of two at the line with 45 seconds left to lead 47-44.

Bassett, who hit two free throws earlier in the quarter, was money again with 34 ticks left on the clock, cutting the Wright lead to 47-46. Rocky fouled to stop the clock, and Wright missed both free throws with 28 seconds left. A tie-up went Lovell’s way with 16 seconds left, and the Panthers fouled Christiansen with 14 seconds on the clock. She had ice water in her veins and hit both free throws to put Rocky up 48-47.

Wright had one more rush, and guard Briana Meza worked inside, missed as Christiansen challenged her, and after the two teams battled for the ball, Wambeke grabbed the rebound for the Lady Grizz and zipped the ball to Schoening, preserving the one-point win.

“Down 46-42, most teams would have decided to be done, and we didn’t,” Moss said. “We had fight in us and just found a way to win it. Keylee is a girl who spends hours shooting in the gym. She put in the work to earn the skill she has.”

Bassett finished with 18 points and five rebounds, hitting eight of eight shots at the foul line. Wambeke added 6 points, six rebounds and five steals, Cooley 6 points and three steals, Sharlotte Hanusa and Boettcher 5 apiece, Schoening and Christiansen 4 each. Schoening added six rebounds, Christiansen four rebounds and three blocked shots.

Wyoming Indian

The Lady Grizz had defeated Wyoming Indian 48-35 on February 8 in Ethete, but the Lady Chiefs are always at the top of their game at State, and the game Friday at the Ford Wyoming Center was a battle, featuring 11 lead changes in the contest.

Rocky was cold early as the Lady Grizz adjusted to the venue and the Lady Chiefs’ 2-3 zone. It took Rocky a bit to find the range, but Schoening knocked down a three-pointer to knot the score 3-3 about three minutes into the game. A 7-0 run put Rocky up 12-8 late in the first quarter, but Lady Chief Taya Dixey drained a trey to pull Wyoming Indian close at 12-11 heading into the second quarter.

Wyoming Indian edged Rocky 6-5 in a low-scoring second quarter to tie the score at halftime, 17-17.

“We struggled on offense in the first half,” Moss said. “We weren’t attacking our gaps and making them move in their defense. One of our main goals was to establish tempo and play with pace. We weren’t able to establish that.”

Moss noted that Bassett hurt her foot on the first possession of the game “and still had the guts to play through it.”

“She wasn’t able to cut laterally on it, so it did affect her,” Moss continued. “She wasn’t able to seal and create space like she usually does.”

A jumper by Bassett and a trey by Schoening following a Lady Chief bucket put Rocky Mountain up 22-19 midway through the third quarter, but two treys by freshman sharpshooter Paisley Blackburn and one by Dixey sparked an 11-4 burst for Wyoming Indian that put the Chiefs up 30-26 before a trey and two free throws by Wambeke helped the Lady Grizz stay close at the quarter break down 32-31.

“That’s when the game changed,” Moss said of the Blackburn treys. “We were late in rotation. That gave them momentum.”

A trey by Cooley gave Rocky a 34-32 lead early in the fourth quarter, and the score was tied at 34, 36, 38 and 39 before WIHS edged ahead 41-39, then hit seven of 10 free throws in the final minute and a half to preserve a 48-43 win.

Bassett led the team with 11 points, and she had seven rebounds and four steals, in spite of her injured foot. Wambeke added 10 points and four rebounds, Cooley 9 points, Schoening 6 points and four rebounds, Boettcher 4 points and seven boards, Halle Grandalen 2 points and three steals, Christiansen 1 point.

Thermopolis

The Lady Grizzlies were forced to play the third-place game Saturday against Thermopolis without Bassett, their leading scorer and rebounder, as the foot injury she suffered against Wyoming Indian flared up after the game.

This was the fourth time the two conference rivals played this season, and the Lady Grizz had won two of the previous three, including a 63-58 win in the regional championship game a week earlier.

Despite Bassett’s injury, the game was close for 32 minutes, featuring eight ties and nine lead changes between the two familiar foes.

“We wanted to limit (Jayssie Owsley),” Moss said of the Lady Grizz strategy. “We did a good job of that. She had scored 20-plus points in the first two games. We wanted to locate and be aware of her.”

Owsley finished with 12 points against the Lady Grizz.

The score was tied 7-7 after the first quarter and 12-12 late in the second, but Owsley hit a jumper and two free throws to put the Lady Bobcats up 16-12 at intermission.

Thermop went up 18-12 early in the third, but a trey by Christiansen and a runner by Wambeke cut the lead to one. Thermop built a 22-17 lead, but sophomore Grandalen led a 6-0 run with a pair of baskets to put Rocky up 23-22. Grandalen’s lefty hook shot later tied the score at the quarter break, 25-25.

Rocky led 30-27, 32-29, 34-32, 36-34 and 38-37 in the fourth quarter, and after a Thermop free throw, the score was tied 38-38. Wambeke missed on the next possession, but Grandalen grabbed the offense rebound and was fouled. She calmly hit both free throws, putting Rocky up 40-38 with six seconds left.

“I was proud of Halle, to play like she did – 14 points and 10 rebounds,” Moss said. “She also had two big blocked shots. That was a solid effort by her, by all of our girls.”

Thermop inbounded the ball to Logann Farrell, who quickly brought the ball across half court, split two defenders, then found Hanna Hill to her right at the three-point line. The senior buried the trey as the buzzer sounded, giving the excited Lady Bobcats the 41-40 win.

While the loss clearly stung, Moss was proud of his team for their effort.

“I was proud of us for coming in and competing,” he said. “You lose a night game as tight as it was, and you come back and play without your leading scorer and one of our best players shows the fight in our team again.

“We were one shot away from celebrating. It was the agony of defeat there.”

After Grandalen’s 14 points and 10 rebounds (also 6-6 at the foul line), Christiansen added 8 points, Boettcher 8 points and five rebounds, Cooley 5 points, Wambeke 5 points and three assists.

The Lady Grizz finished the season with a 19-8 record.

“Nineteen wins is a lot of wins, something to be proud of,” Moss said. “And a regional championship for the fourth time in school history is something to be proud of. It will take some time to get the bitter taste out of our mouths, but when we step back and see what we accomplished, I hope our girls will see the things we can be proud of.”