Rocky Mountain girls learn from first-weekend tournament

The Rocky Mountain Lady Grizz gained valuable early-season insight after playing four games in two days at the Coal Miner’s Classic Tournament in Wright and the Herder Classic in Glenrock. Facing teams from northeast Wyoming, the Lady Grizz came away with two solid victories and valuable lessons as the season gets underway.

“As we played this week our team did a great job of working hard and staying together when it was difficult,” head coach Justin Moss said. “These are traits that will need to continue if we want to become the best version of ourselves.”

Rocky 46, Sundance 40

Rocky Mountain opened the weekend with a 46-40 win over Sundance on Friday afternoon, using a decisive third quarter to create separation. After holding a slim 15–14 halftime lead, the Lady Grizz outscored Sundance 19–7 in the third period to take control. Sundance closed the gap with a 19-point fourth quarter, but Rocky Mountain made enough plays late to secure the victory.

“Our best game this weekend was against Sundance,” Moss said. “We knew that they would be one of the top teams in 2A this year, and we were able to execute some things offensively and defensively that kept them off balance.”

Lauren Bassett led the way with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting (58 percent), including 9 points in the third quarter. Halle Grandalen added 13 points, shooting 4 of 8 from the field (50 percent) and going 5 of 6 at the free-throw line. Kaysie Cooley contributed 9 points, and as a team Rocky Mountain went 15 of 27 from the free-throw line (56 percent).

“We created some separation in the third quarter as Lauren Bassett scored 9 of her 19 points in that quarter,” Moss said. “We knew we had some mismatches inside, and we did a good job of playing inside out. Halle got us going early in the game, and Lauren helped finish them off.”

Rocky 57, Wright 33

Later Friday night, Rocky Mountain rolled to a 57-33 win over Wright, building control early and never letting up. After trailing 11-9 at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Grizz responded with a strong second period, outscoring Wright 19-6 to take command. Rocky Mountain extended the lead in each of the final two quarters to secure the 24-point victory.

Avery Thomas and Keylee Christiansen led the scoring with 9 points each, while Layla Gardner added 8. Bassett and Grandalen chipped in 7 apiece as the Lady Grizz spread the scoring across the lineup. Rocky Mountain shot 43 percent from the field and went 14 of 21 from the free-throw line (67 percent).

“We love playing team basketball, so it was nice to see a variety of girls get into the scoring column,” Moss said. “I think we have enough scorers that a variety of girls will carry the scoring load.”

Tongue River 47, Rocky 29

Rocky Mountain faced a tough challenge Saturday in Glenrock, falling 47–29 to Tongue River. Despite the score, the Lady Grizz showed resilience and continued to compete. After trailing at halftime, Rocky Mountain put together its best offensive quarter in the third, outscoring Tongue River 14-13 and showing improved ball movement and inside play.

Grandalen led Rocky Mountain with 8 points, shooting 4 of 5 from the field. Cooley also scored 8 points, while Bassett scored 4. The Lady Grizz finished 9 of 29 on 2-point attempts and went 2 of 5 at the free-throw line.

While the loss was challenging, Moss said the weekend helped clarify areas for improvement.

“The biggest areas that we need to improve upon this week are our defensive assignments, rebounding  and creating angles on offense,” he said.

Glenrock 62, Rocky 44

Rocky Mountain closed the weekend with a 62-44 loss to Glenrock on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Grizz stayed competitive through the first half, trailing 37–28 at halftime after matching Glenrock’s pace early. Glenrock pulled away in the second half, but Rocky Mountain continued to battle defensively through all four quarters.

Cooley led the Lady Grizz with 17 points, shooting 6 of 16 from the field and going 3-4 at the free-throw line. Kennedy Brimhall added 5 points, and Thomas chipped in 4. As a team, Rocky Mountain went 15 of 26 from the line (58 percent).

“Kaysie had a solid weekend taking over as our point guard this season,” Moss said. “She did a good job of taking care of the basketball. Kaysie has really worked on her shooting during the offseason.

“It will be fun creating actions this season for both Kaysie and Keylee as they can really shoot it.”

Over the four games, Rocky Mountain totaled 176 points while continuing to establish offensive roles and rotation depth. The Lady Grizz shot 34 percent from the field and 41 percent on 2-point attempts, while converting 58 percent of their free throws.

Individually, Grandalen scored 30 points on 55 percent shooting and finished 11 of 20 on 2-point attempts while knocking down 80 percent of her free throws. Bassett added 30 points in three games, shooting 46 percent from the field. Cooley led the team in total scoring with 40 points and hit seven three-pointers.

“We aren’t to the point of defining roles on our team yet, however, it was good to see our girls perform,” Moss said. “Most nights Lauren, Keylee, Kaycie and Halle will carry the scoring load, but it was fun building depth this weekend and starting to figure out our bench.”

Looking ahead, Moss said the team’s mindset has him encouraged.

“Our girls are really coachable and want to improve, which makes for a really enjoyable season because each week I think that we will see our girls continue to improve,” he said.

Burlington road game

Rocky Mountain traveled to Burlington Tuesday night to face the undefeated Huskies and ran into a strong Burlington squad in a 64–41 loss. The Lady Grizzlies struggled inside after Lauren Bassett exited early with an injury, while Grandalen was limited by early foul trouble.

Burlington jumped out to a 21-8 first-quarter lead and maintained control despite Rocky Mountain’s efforts to find an offensive rhythm.

Rocky showed its best balance in the second and fourth quarters, scoring 13 points in each frame. Cooley led the Lady Grizz with 22 points, shooting efficiently inside and converting 83 percent of her 2-point attempts. Grandalen and Sawyer Bassett added 5 points apiece, while Christiansen finished with 6. Rocky Mountain closed the night shooting 39 percent from the field and continued to compete defensively against Burlington’s pressure until the final buzzer.

Head coach Moss was not overly discouraged by the loss and pointed to offensive rebounding as a key factor.

“We got out-rebounded 46-20, giving up 25 offensive rebounds,” Moss said. “We struggled not having Lauren, and then Halle was quickly in foul trouble. We have other capable rebounders, but we just didn’t do a good job of it tonight. Luckily, these are correctable errors. We’ll lick our wounds and keep moving forward.”

The Lady Grizz will be in Shoshoni on Friday and Saturday for another tough tournament, the Wrangler Invitational. Rocky Mountain opens play Friday at noon against the Lyman Eagles, then returns Saturday morning to face the Upton Bobcats at 11:30 a.m. With little rest, the Lady Grizz will wrap up the tournament later that afternoon, taking on the Cokeville Panthers at 2:30 p.m.