Lady Cats top Worland in close game Thursday

It was a mixed bag for the Lady Bobcat basketball team last week as they topped the Lady Warriors from Worland on Thursday in a nail biter, 53-48, then lost to the Buffalo Lady Buffs on Friday 75-37.

Head coach Cory Sova said the Worland game was a great confidence booster for the girls.

"This was a total team effort as we played almost the whole overtime period without three starters," Sova said.

Ashley McPhie fouled outwith about three minutes left in regulation play, Sesi Jensen with a minute left and then the team lost Haley McDermott just four seconds into overtime.

Aspen Jensen, Kaylee DeVries and Dani Jo Pebbles were pulled from the bench and did a great job holding the team together during overtime play.

Aspen Jensen made a two-pointer in the second and third quarters and then hit a huge "three" in the fourth. She attacked the basket in the overtime period and calmly dropped six free-throws.

"She had been struggling somewhat the past couple of weeks, so she picked a great time to play her best varsity game to date," Sova said. "I was so happy for her."

DeVries filled in for Sesi Jensen and fought for two huge rebounds in overtime. She also made a free-throw down the stretch and didn't commit a single turnover during the game.

Pebbles came in for McDermott and didn't have any turnovers either, making a big defensive play on the baseline, causing a turnover when the Cats absolutely had to have a stop.

Sova said McDermott carried the team until she fouled out with 22 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

"She attacked the basket well and was able to get to the free-throw line 17 times, which was huge for us," Sova said.

McKenna Bomengen made big throws down the stretch in overtime, leading with nine rebounds and three assists along with a pair of teals.

"Her energy and emotion was contagious for us," said Sova.

Sesi Jensen was solid again with seven rebounds, two assists and led the team with three steals.

McPhie made a couple of big shots when the Lady Cats were struggling and was solid with five rebounds, two assists and a single steal.

Tahja Hunt gave effort and energy on defense with one rebound, one assist and a steal to add to her stats.

"Most importantly," Sova said, "she had to handle the ball more in overtime with Haley (McDermott) out and she was ready for the challenge. It was nice to begin conference play with a quadrant win."

Sova said the one downfall was the 26 turnovers the girls had.

Worland has a good mix of size, speed and quickness, and coach Hoffman has them playing hard.

"They scored a quick five points in overtime," Sova said, "but we were ale to outscore them 9-1 the last couple of minutes with a few trips to the free throw line.

"Our girls really appreciated our crowd's support; it was outstanding. Finally, our hats off to our pep band. It energizes the arena and their efforts are appreciated."

Friday's game against Buffalo didn't go nearly as well, unfortunately.

Sova said Buffalo shot the ball well throughout the game and Kaydin Davis, Buffalo's left handed point guard, had 27 points, including making five three-pointers.

The Lady Cats had a decent first quarter, scoring 15 points, but had a hard time keeping the pace. They were only down 45-32 in the last four minutes of the third quarter, but the the fourth quarter wasn't pretty.

"We were obviously mentally and physically wore out from the Worland game less than 24 hours earlier," Sova said. "We will learn from this performance and keep building on our strengths and addressing our weaknesses.

"These girls are willing to work and have a lot of fun, but are serious about the game. I expect them to bounce back quickly."

A positive coming out of the Buffalo game was the girls committing just 13 turnovers against some pretty heavy pressure and some very good athletes.

Sova said this was a big imporvement compared to the Worland game, but with Buffalo's ability to shoot the ball, the game was just too much for them.

Rebounding was a concern. Sova said there was a lot of standing and watching on the Lady Cats part. They gave up 17 offensive rebounds and only got 12 defensive rebounds, a terrible ratio.

Twelve points alone were on easy offensive putbacks and Sova said they simply need to clean that up. A lot of it was mental and its something the girls need to take care of, even when physically and mentally tired.

Nine out of 10 of the varsity players who were on the court grabbed at least one rebound, but their 5/25 shots from the field in the second half was unfortunate. Bomengen and McDermott each had two assists, DeVries lead with three steals and Sesi Jensen added two more.

"We only have one game this week," Sova said, "and its another huge conference quadrant game against Rawlins on Friday.

"They are very athletic with good size and run the floor well. We will have to focus on not allowing any easy hoops, rebounding better than we have all year, taking care of the basketball, and finally, running our offense with aggression and precision.

The girls are excited to play in front of the home crowd again and will be ready to compete."

Games against Rawlins begin at home at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.