Lady Cats told to not overthink

On Tuesday February 7, the varsity Lady Cats took on Lovell in a conference game.

Coach David Villa said, “Our goal for the game was to make sure we broke the press and pushed the tempo. We felt we could use our speed against them. Initially we got a 9-3 lead, and the game was going our way. Our defense and offense looked good. Their star player Kallie Owens had been scoring in double digits all season and our defense held her to 3 points.”

Coach Villa added that he “Felt our game plan worked well against her, however Lily Edwards would score 12 points along with teammate Libby Mickelson with 11 points. Defense wise, we had planned on playing them man to man and to switch into our 1-2-2 zone when needed.”

The second quarter the girls could only buy 2 points to their 8 points. At halftime the score would be Lovell 22 to the Lady Cats 16. 

Coach Villa stated, “At halftime, we discussed ball movement and getting into the paint more. The third quarter we responded better than most games where we normally come out flat. The second half we felt the game was getting away from us when Lovell went up by double digits. In the fourth quarter we were now in foul trouble and shots that we made in the first half were not going in. We had to make some adjustments early on in the game with Dazlynn Hunt went out when an injury but felt the team responded and held their own.”

According to Villa, Hunt is one the teams’ premier defenders, but the team did play the next man up mentality. Though the team had their chances to pull within 5 points, they just could not get the critical stops and critical buckets. Lovell would defeat the Bobcats 50 to 39. 

Scoring: Seniors Jayci Basse, Ruth Johnson 6, junior Dazlynn Hunt with 2, freshman Jayssie Owsley would lead the team with a 20 point performance and Kamyrn Farrell with 10.

Last Saturday, the Lady Cats hosted the Tongue River Eagles. Tongue River at the time was ranked #2 in 2A.

Coaches game plan would be similar as with the Lovell game, push the tempo, play man and zone defense at critical moments.

“We had prepared for their 5 out offense and their mixed zone defenses. We felt we had set ourselves up with some quick zone hitters that would give us some great looks at the rim. In our man defense we felt we matched up well against them. This would be a game where we could not buy any rhythm with our shots. Though we would hang with them the first half and would only be done 17-15 we could not make anything from layups to kick out 3’s. Though our lineup of players would be limited due to injuries I felt the girls did not give up. It is frustrating when you are doing the right things, and nothing goes your way,” said coach Villa.

Tongue River would end up winning 42-28.

“Our message to the team after the game was not to overthink the game as there were a lot of opportunities that were given to win but it was a game where nothing went our way offensively. When we win quarters against some top ranked teams it is spurred on by our defense which makes our offense flow better. It would definitely be a tough loss emotionally as we felt we had our chance to win this game,” added coach Villa.

 Scoring: Johnson 8 , juniors Kadance Bowman would have a good game offensively with 7 points, Ina King with 2, Owsley with 5, Farrell 4 and Charlee Slagle with 2 points.

This week, the Lady Cats have one conference game against the Worland Warriors Thursday and a non-conference game Friday in Lander. See the calendar on this page for a full listing of games and times. 

“The team is hungry for some wins so we will look to prepare them and flip this losing streak,” said coach Villa.