Lady Grizz sweep Greybull and Shoshoni to open 2A Northwest play

By: 
David Peck

Already off to a strong start with an 8-5 pre-conference record, the Rocky Mountain Lady Grizzlies plunged into conference play and took charge of the 2A Northwest race with wins against Greybull and Shoshoni this weekend.

Rocky edged Greybull 36-32 in Greybull Friday, then pummeled Shoshoni 53-19 at home Saturday.

The Lady Grizz jumped out to an early 12-6 lead Friday at Greybull but had trouble shaking the determined Lady Buffs. Rocky had great balance early as Shelby Wambeke, Tarynn Schoening, Lauren Bassett, Keylee Christiansen, Kaysie Cooley and Brittly Boettcher each scored during the first quarter. Rocky led 12-8 at the quarter break.

A jumper by Cooley put Rocky up 14-8 early in the second period, but Greybull responded with a 6-0 run to tie the score at 14. After Christiansen drained a three-pointer for the Lady Grizz to break the tie, Marlee Henson answered at the other end for Greybull with a trey. Greybull went up 19-17, but Halle Grandalen closed out the first half with a follow bucket for Rocky as the two teams remained knotted 19-19 at halftime.

Bassett went to work for the Lady Grizz early in the third quarter, scoring four baskets during a 10-0 run.

“It was good to get a little momentum coming out of the half,” coach Justin Moss said. “We did a better job of seeing some of the openings in the zone defense and attacked a little better as well as getting in transition.”

Greybull closed the quarter with two inside baskets by sophomore center Perla Rodriguez to close the quarter, then added a Mataia Henderson trey and a Rodriguez bucket to pull close at 29-28 early in the fourth.

“We like to get into transition, but we struggled on the boards tonight,” Moss said. “Greybull is physical and bigger than us in spots, but we were too tentative with our blockouts and didn’t control the boards like we have most the year. If we don’t rebound we can’t get into transition.”

After Bassett hit Wambeke for two, Greybull went up 32-31 with three minutes left, but the Lady Grizz held Greybull scoreless the rest of the way, took the lead and held on for the 36-32 win.

Bassett finished with 11 points for the Lady Grizzlies, Wambeke 6, Christiansen and Boettcher 5 each, Cooley 4, Schoening 3 and Grandalen 2. Boettcher snared seven rebounds, Bassett six, and Wambeke had five steals, Bassett four. Cooley recorded three assists.

“I was proud of our girls,” Moss said. “We learned how to win even when we aren’t at our best. We have some great leaders that keep us together even when we are struggling. Sometimes the games when you’re not your best are the games when you learn the most.”

Shoshoni

The Shoshoni Lady Blue had no answer for the Lady Grizz Saturday in Cowley. Rocky never trailed, breaking out to an early 9-0 lead, and after taking an 11-5 lead at the quarter break, the Lady Grizz outscored the visitors from Fremont County 10-1 in the second quarter to lead 21-6 at halftime.

The Lady Grizz played aggressive basketball in the half, scoring on drives, inside moves, fast breaks and offensive rebounds. Bassett scored 9 points in the half, Wambeke 7.

Rocky Mountain cruised in the second half, outscoring Shoshoni 15-2 in the second quarter and 17-11 in the fourth for the 53-19 win.

Cooley led three players in double figures with 14 points, and Bassett scored 11 points, Wambeke 10. Christiansen added 8 points, Sharlotte Hanusa 4, Schoening 3, Boettcher 2 and Grandalen 1. Bassett pulled down nine rebounds, Cooley six. Wambeke dished off four assists and added four steals with Christiansen.

“We had great defensive tenacity throughout the game,” Moss said. “We had eight different girls in the scoring column and three in double figures. Our team is really fun to watch when we play like this. They really moved the ball, and we were able to impose our will on both ends of the court.

“I love that we came back out of the locker room and went right back to work. We want to eliminate some of the lulls we are having and play solid basketball for extended minutes.”

Thermop at home

Now 10-5 overall and 2-0 in the 2A Northwest, the third-ranked Lady Grizzlies will host Thermopolis Friday at 4 (JVs) and 5:30 p.m. in a key conference matchup. Thermop is 7-6 overall but tied with Rocky at the top of the conference standings at 2-0 after beating Shoshoni and Greybull over the weekend.

Saturday, the Lady Grizz travel to Big Horn for a non-conference game. The JVs play at 10:30 a.m., varsity at 1:30. Big Horn is 7-7 on the season.

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