Lady Cats win one, lose one

The Lady Cats basketball team hosted Buffalo and Big Piney last weekend, splitting the contests 1-1.

On Friday night the girls lost to the second ranked team, Buffalo, by a final score of 64-41.

They dug a very large hole early in the game as they struggled to take care of the ball, falling behind by 17-0 in the first quarter. After a sluggish start, the girls settled down and played better basketball the remainder of the game.

The Lady Cats forced 24 turnovers, which coach Matt McPhie said is a positive, but they also turned it over 28 times, which lead to too many easy points for Buffalo.

Offensively, junior Hallie Weber lead the team with 11 points, followed by McKenna Bomengen and Ashley McPhie with nine each.

"Three of our players did a great job rebounding," McPhie said, "with Sesi Jensen, Weber and Bomengen each grabbing eight boards. Bomengen's total included five offensive rebounds."

Bomengen also added six stealsto her stats and Tahja Hunt had a block during the game.

Saturday was a bit better for the girls, whipping Big Piney by a final score of 56-48.

"As a staff, we were incredibly proud of the girls for their effort and ability to overcome some adversity," McPhie said. "As a team we were in foul trouble early, and went into the half trailing 23-19."

In the third quarter the Cats buckled down and played great team ball, outscoring Big Piney 20-10.

"It was a great team effort," the coach said, "the girls had a great second half, scoring 37 points on the way to a victory."

Weber led the team again, posting her first career double-double, by scoring 12 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.

"We're very happy to see Hallie have success as she has worked extremely hard during the off season and she is gaining confidence," said McPhie. "Hallie brings toughness and energy to our team and continues to develop each wseek."

Bomengen lead the way in scoring on Saturday with 18 points, adding four assists.

McPhie added 11 points, two assists and two steals, while Jensen added six points and seven rebounds.

Kaylee DeVries brought great energy to the game, grabbing three rebounds and two steals for the team in the second half.

"The girls continue to work extremely hard each week and we stay focused on our goal of becoming the best team we can be as we reach the Regional tournament here in a couple of weeks," McPhie said.

The girls will be on the road Friday, taking on long-time rivals the Lady Warriors of Worland, starting at 5:30.