Lady Cats battle hard, fall in two

The Lady Cats varsity basketball team went up against Rocky Mountain last Thursday playing an impressive first quarter, but the girls lost momentum later in the game and were unable to pull out a win, losing 24-41.

“In our game against Rocky Mountain it appeared it would be a close game. Both teams were making stances against each other defensively but neither team could score many points in the first quarter,” said coach David Villa. 

He added, “It wasn’t until the second quarter that we turned the ball over as Rocky Mountain would go on a 6-0 run and take the lead 19 to 12 at halftime.”

The girls made some adjustments for the second half but got into foul trouble midway in the third.

“It was a game where we could never get a good flow. We did have opportunities to get within single digits in the fourth quarter but shots did not fall in. It was a game I felt we let slip away from us and could not gain enough momentum in both defense and offense to pull out the win,” said coach Villa.

Leading point scores include: Layne Myer 9, Kamry Bowman 8, Mariah Brooks 5 and Dazlynn Hunt 2.

The Lady Cats then hosted Buffalo at home on Friday knowing they would have a real battle on their hands.

“In our game against Buffalo, I knew we would face a physical battle. They are a deep team with a lot of talent. We had two game plans going into it. Plan A was to play more zone due to coming off a tight game against Rocky Mountain. Midway through the first quarter we were unable to stay up with them so we went into Plan B which was to play more man to man,” said coach Villa.

The girls battled hard but lost 57-26.

“We adjusted some of our offense to help gain some trust with each other and was excited with what I saw on the floor. It’s focus was to get higher percentage shots for us of which it did. It will be something we work on in this week,” added coach Villa.

Leading point scores include: Layne Meyers 8, Kamry Bowman 7, Mariah Brooks 6, Jayci Basse 2, Dazlynn Hunt 2 and Ruthann Johnson 1.

Coach Villa gave special recognition for the week to Mariah Brooks. “She has been asked to be more aggressive in her offense and defense. Though the numbers are not high at the moment she is doing what we are asking of her. It is just a matter of time when everything comes together for her. We are proud of her stepping into the challenge to produce more for the team,” he said.

The junior varsity Lady Cats lost against Rocky Mountain last Thursday with a final score of 33-18, then on Friday at home they fell to Buffalo, 52-18.

Coach Katlin Despain said, “Eighteen seemed to be our number last week. We had some great passing happening at times and our shots seemed to come in waves. Always seeing progress from the girls, which is all I can ask for.”

Leading point scores in the Rocky Mountain game include: Sofia Gerber 9, Kadance Bowman 3, Ina King 2, Lexi Garrison 2 and Maggie Landon - 1. 

Leading point scores in the Buffalo game include: Hanna Hill 8, Maggie Landon 8 and Kali Simeral 2.  

The freshman girls will travel to Powell this week on Thursday. The junior varsity and varsity Lady Cats will take on Worland at home on Friday with games beginning at 4 and 5:30 p.m. Next Thursday they will be on the road to take on Burlington.