Lady Grizzlies note successful season with thanks, awards

Rocky Mountain head girls basketball coach Justin Moss and his assistants recapped the 2024-25 basketball season during a Monday awards night filled with thanks, comments on the season, player notes and special awards.

In his introductory remarks, Moss noted that the theme of the season was Win the Moment, and while the season had its ups and down, pain and joy, the girls “brought it every night, battled and fought every night.”

Moss began his “thank yous” by thanking the school administration and staff including athletic directors Tobee Christiansen and Rod Winland, principal Betsy Sammons, secretary Brenda Brost and transportation director T.K. Haslam for their “support and guidance, communication and scheduling games, buses and hotels.”

He thanked all of the parents, especially the moms, for their support, food and decorations and the senior parents for the team dinners and banners, noting especially Camaren Boettcher. The parents have always supported the program and players “when your girls come home after a tough practice, a tough day or a tough game.”

Others thanked included:

Manager Bailey Gifford: “One of the best managers, always on top of things, great communicator.”

Trainer Cammie Brost: “She does a great job of communicating with us coaches and works hard to get kids back on the field as quickly and safely as possible.”

The Lovell Chronicle for the “best coverage in the state.”

Grizzly Booster Club for “supporting the program in lots of different ways (including) signs, donations and decorations.”

Tiffany Minchow for “running our Facebook page” and photography.

Wife Annette Moss and all of the coaching spouses for “being patient while we focus on basketball for several months out of the year, joking that a message could be sent: “We interrupt this marriage for basketball season.”

Finally, Moss thanked his assistant coaches Ryan Boettcher, Jamie Cooley and Stacey Haslem, saying, “Thank you for all the work you put in behind the scenes, watching film, making suggestions, preparing and counseling our players and putting our girls in the best position possible to be successful, the countless hours in meetings and being patient with me as I navigated this new head coaching position. I really do think we have one of the best coaching staffs in the state in terms of understanding the game of basketball and the development of fundamentals.”

Team notables

Moss turned the podium over to his assistants. Cooley was first and brought her “C” team to the front of the room. She noted that she had the same girls in elementary P.E. and has been glad to work with them again. She thanked the team for their work and said she was “super proud” of the team and said they “did a great job this year and were fun to be around.”

Boettcher was next and introduced his junior varsity team, which was largely the same squad as Cooley’s C team. He said the junior varsity is an important part of a strong varsity team in terms of player development, noting, “You develop your skills on the way up. I can’t emphasize that enough. It takes court time, which is why the JV is important. You have to teach them to compete, and if they do, they can stay in any game.

Boettcher said the JVs had a great season filled with a number of tough Class 3A opponents.

Moss then thanked and presented a plaque to Boettcher, who is retiring from coaching, for his many years of service to the program.

Season summary

Moss highlighted the successful 19-8 season including an eight-game conference winning streak and noted several “favorite games” where the team overcame obstacles including sickness, tough opponents and players coming through in the clutch. He said the team started 7-5 in an early season filled with 3A opponents that honed the team for the conference games, reporting that Max Preps ranked the Rocky Mountain schedule as the toughest in Class 2A.

He said one of his favorite games as a coach was beating Thermopolis in overtime, and he expressed pride in the team’s third regional championship in four years and the fourth in school history. The Lady Grizzlies qualified for the state tournament for the ninth consecutive season and got to “play on Saturday” at State. The seniors have had a great run, he said, including a state championship.

“The biggest accomplishment was the growth that this team had this year,” Moss said. “We established ourselves as one of the top teams in the state. I’m extremely proud of the way that this team has grown up over the course of the season, and I am excited for what the future holds for this group.”

Special awards

Moss noted the depth of the ’24-25 Lady Grizzlies and said he sometimes wouldn’t call a time out in order to wear out the opponent, knowing that the team depth would prevail. He said the five all-conference players and one honorable mention are the most he’s seen in the history of the program.

Moss presented four team awards voted on by the players themselves: sophomore Kaysie Cooley, Offensive Player of the Year; junior Lauren Bassett, Spirit of the Grizz Award; senior Tarynn Schoening, Defensive Player of the Year; senior Shelby Wambeke, Heart and Hustle Award.

Moss wrapped up by talking about each letter winner:

• Sophomore Charlee Welling – “Great growth playing point guard, ball handling, decision-making, leadership.”

• Sophomore Halle Grandalen – “Great development throughout the season, best game of the season 14 points 10 rebounds, great rebounder, great attitude and effort.”

• Sophomore Kaysie Cooley – “Ball handling, scoring, runs that broke the game open, teams afraid of her.  All-conference honorable mention, Offensive Player of the Year.”

• Junior Emma Sponsel – “Transitioned to the post, she’s tough, rebounding, physicality, worked on her post defense and offense.”

• Junior Layla Gardner – “Continued to be aggressive, growth, played both guard and post, great attitude, led the bench mob.”

• Junior Keylee Christiansen – “Shooting weekends and before and after practice, rebounding, All-conference.”

• Junior Lauren Bassett – “Might have the best motor I’ve seen, she brought juice, established dominance, set the tone in practice and during games, all-conference, all-region, all-state, Spirit of the Grizz Award.

• Senior Sharlotte Hanusa – “Undersized post, great energy on defense, tough in our press, hustle plays tracking down loose balls.”

• Senior Tarynn Schoening – “Menace at top of the zone and press, length and quickness, anticipation. One of the great transfers to Rocky Mountain. All-conference, Defensive Player of the Year.”

• Senior Brittly Boettcher – “Strength and toughness, mad hops, biggest 5-6 girl I’ve coached. All-conference, All-region.”

• Senior Shelby Wambeke – “Speed quickness, anticipation on defense, great job finishing in transition, controlling the offense, hit big free throws. All-conference, All-region. Heart and Hustle Award.”

“Thank you to our seniors, and good luck as you move forward,” Moss continued. “I have no doubts that you will go on to do great things. Continue to bring the juice, compete, use your skills, your grit and your positive energy to become great in your next adventure. We will miss you. Please don’t be a stranger. You’re always welcome back to visit. You have graduated into an illustrious group we call the ladies.”

To the returning players, Moss said, “Spend your time competing this offseason, run track, play volleyball, come to our summer workouts, team camp and summer league, find ways to compete. If you’re not in a weights class, try to fit that into your schedule. We’ll attack the offseason the same way we did last year. The work you put in between now and next year will be the deciding factor in our success next season. Champions are made in the summer.”