Lady Cats lose in heart-breaking overtime game

Hot Springs County High School's Lady Cats basketball team took on Powell at home last Friday night, dropping the game in a heart breaking overtime to the Lady Panthers, 51-47.

"The girls played extremely well for the night," coach Matt McPhie said. "Powell is a team they had lost to by nearly 30 points earlier in the season. We trailed by as many as eight points in the third quarter, but the girls played tough defense and hit some critical shots down the stretch to force the overtime.

"We missed some costly free throws down the stretch that could have sealed the win, but we'll learn and grow from it. The team is improving as the girls are playing more efficiently and individual production is improving with many of the girls."

McKenna Bomengen lead the team with 19 points, followed closely by Ashley McPhie with 14.

Sesi Jensen had a giant night of rebounding, hauling in a season best with 13 boards, including four on the offensive side. Jensen also added seven points and three steals.

Tahja Hunt added three assists for the night to help pace the Bobcat offense.

Saturday saw the girls traveling to Lovell to take on the Lady Bulldogs, falling by a score of 50-41.

"The team just didn't get it done versus a team that I felt we matched up well with," McPhie said. "A slow start hindered our chances of winning the contest as we headed into half time trailing by 10 at 29-19."

The girls battled back however, and the lead was trimmed to three heading into the fourth quarter as they outscored the Lady Bulldogs 10-3 in the third. Unfortunately, in the end they turned the ball over down the stretch and didn't hit shots.

Bomengen lead the scoring with 13 points. She also added four rebounds and five assists to her stats.

Jensen had a season high of 11 points along with eight rebounds and three steals.

Hunt added six points going two-for-three from downtown and chipping in two assists. Kaylee DeVries played great defense with five deflections, a couple offensive rebounds and two assists. McPhie added five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

"The girls are playing their best basketball of the season right now," McPhie said. "We just need to do things a little more consistently. We're really close to creating a real identity of a team built on tough defense and capable scorers.

"Our production is going up across the board and I am very proud of the effort day in and day out from each of our players."

The JV team lost to Powell on Friday as well, 32-20. Emme Norsworthy led the scoreing with eight points.

The freshman team won, 24-19. Julie Johnson had eight points and Mariah Brooks dropped in six.

They joined the varsity team in Lovell on Saturday with the JV losing 39-32. Jasmine Collins lead the offense, scoring seven points.

The freshman team beat Lovell, however, 40-27. Johnson again fueled the offense, scoring 16 points.

The Lady Cats will be in Newcastle on Friday and will host Worland on their home turf on Saturday.