TMS basketball players hit the courts

The middle school girl's basketball team is off to a good start this season under head coach Ginger Ward.

The girls had their first three games at home, playing Thursday against Lander and then a pair of games against Meeteetse and Riverton on Friday.

"The team did an exceptional job blocking out with Mariah Brooks leading the team in rebounds," Ward said of the Lander A game. "Probably one of the best team efforts in this area I have seen."

Ward said they will continue to work in this area during practice.

They struggled a bit with the press in the first quarter and fell behind, but the girls kept at it, shooting 50% from the field the first half, even though they didn't get off a lot of shots.

"Julie Johnson's athletic ability catches my eye," Ward said. "When we instill some confidence in her offense, her defensed will really start to shine."

The A team lost to Lander, 12-38.

The B team only had a half game against Lander on Thursday.

"Michelle Burgess saw her first action in middle school basketball and played well," said Ward. "Ashlynn Harvey works extremely hard at practice and keeps learning a ton."

Ward said Hallie Martinez stepped in and filled the point shoes and she looks forward to seeing her get better every week.

The B team lost to Lander, 6-7.

On Friday, the B team played Meeteetse and Ward said the girls came out flat, dug themselves into a hole, but kept working and scored more points than before, even though they lost, 14-27.

Ward said Kamry Bowman's play is improving each game and she feels she is going to become a strong point guard.

Riverton came here to play the A team on Friday, too.

Ward said she had almost the entire team on Friday, but due to missing practice, some players were held back from playing time.

"Caydence Becher pulled down the most rebounds in this game," she said. "In the first half we saw a lot of imporvement from the first game, but by the second half, we reverted to some bad habits and needed to focus a little more."

"We improve every day and these young ladies are listening and trying. We will continue to get better each game."