Lady Grizz split with Greybull in season finale

The Rocky Mountain Middle School girls basketball team closed out the regular season last Monday, Nov. 25, with a trio of games in Greybull.

In three close contests, the Lady Grizzlies dropped the A game 23-15, won the B game 21-18 and fell in the C game 17-14 in overtime.

The Rocky A squad dug themselves a hole in the first half, trailing 15-3 at intermission, and though they outscored the home team 12-8 in the second half, they couldn’t make up the deficit.

Eighth grader Sawyer Bassett scored 13 of Rocky’s 15 points, and Elle Ganoung added a bucket.

“Greybull brought out pressure right from the beginning,” Rocky coach Taylor Winland said. “They forced us out of our sets offensively and sped us up. It will be good to have a week of practice to get ourselves prepared for the conference tournament. We’re excited to see what these girls can do.”

The B team Lady Grizz prevailed in a close, hard-fought contest as sixth grader Presli Moss poured in 14 points. Rocky held a 10-9 edge at halftime, then outscored Greybull 5-4 in the third quarter and 6-5 in the fourth.

Kinli Bitton added 3 points for the Lady Grizz, Lauren Hedges and Kielley Brimhall 2 apiece.

“This was the most complete game our girls have played this year,” Winland said. “We were efficient in all aspects of the game, and we were able to get a big win heading into the jamboree.”

The C game was an odd affair in that the Lady Grizz shut Greybull out in two of the four quarters – the second and third -- but fell in overtime. Rocky trailed 6-2 after the first quarter and 6-5 at halftime, then outscored Greybull 4-0 in the third to lead 9-6. Greybull tied the score 14-14 after regulation by outscoring the Lady Grizz 8-5 in the fourth quarter, then outscored Rocky 3-0 in overtime.

Bitton led Rocky Mountain with 6 points, and Moss scored 4, Hedges and Alexis Clark 2 each.

“The C team battled all game,” Winland said. “It was a fun environment and a great learning experience for our girls to play in an overtime game. A huge shout-out to these girls for always being coachable and always battling no matter the score.”

Postseason play

The Lady Grizzlies will split up for a tournament and jamboree Saturday. The A team (5-7) will host the Big Horn Conference Tournament Saturday in Cowley while the combined B/C team plays at a jamboree in Basin at Riverside High School.

As the number four seed, the Rocky A team will open with five seed Ten Sleep at 9 a.m. Saturday in the RMMS Auxiliary Gym.