Lady Cats run into tough opponents

The Hot Springs County High School Girls Varsity Basketball team traveled south last weekend for games against Lyman on Friday and then Mountain View on Saturday. Both of those teams had winning records coming into the contests and each proved too much for the Lady Cats.

On Friday, the Lady Cats were up against the Lady Eagles of Lyman. The Lyman team has had a positive season, coming into the weekend with a record of 8 and 5. While the win/loss record for the Lady Cats isn’t pretty, it doesn’t accurately reflect the progress the team has made throughout the season.

Against Lyman, the Lady Cats continued to be plagued by unforced turnovers, and ineffective shooting – problems with which a young team is bound to grapple with. The strong defensive press deployed by the Lady Eagles left the team from Thermopolis appearing harried, subjecting themselves to poor passing opportunities and less than ideal execution. While Lyman’s shooting also suffered, giving the Lady Cats opportunities to get back into the game, Thermopolis was not able to take advantage.

Flashes of good things to come, however, were displayed by the Lady Cats in the third period. They came out strong, playing really good basketball, putting on a strong defensive effort that included steals by Ina King, Chloee Owsley and Dazlynn Hunt. The Lady Cats opened the period with a run of six unanswered points, in just over a minute.

The Lady Cats lost the game by a score of 42 to 25. In the contest, much needed offense was provided by Hanna Hill, in the form of three successful three-point shots. The team ran into foul trouble in the fourth period, however, with both Ina King and Kamryn Farrell fouling out of the game.

Hanna Hill had 9 points, Chloee Owsley had 1 point, Maggie Landon had 2 points, Kamryn Farrell had 4 points, Jayssie Owsley had 7 points, Kenzie Frederick had 1 point and Davdine King had 1 point.

After the game, coach Tyler Weinberger said, “We had illness running through the team all week, resulting in practices not being what we hope for, but I thought we played well in the third period and just need to play together like that on a more consistent basis.”

Saturday’s opponent presented an 11 and 2 team, with a distinct height advantage over the Lady Cats. Dazlynn Hunt, however, was clearly unimpressed. She played a great game against Mountain View, hustling throughout the game, creating havoc with fast hands on defense. She powered through a driving a lane full of tall opponents, stealing the ball and generally making the kind of nuisance of herself that was a pleasure to watch.

The Lady Cats played well in the first period, with Austin Slagle coming off the bench – providing a much needed force at both ends of the court. The team worked themselves out of the Mountain View press with proficiency, causing the Buffaloes to abandon the effort – and demonstrating a positive sign, from a team that has shown difficulty in handling a press defense.

Rebounding was a distinct plus for the Lady Cats against a tall team in the Lady Buffs, with an assertive effort being displayed off the glass, both on offense and defense. Ina King and Davdine King each had a good game, playing tough, grabbing rebounds, causing turnovers and putting up points. Hanna Hill, Kamryn Farrell and Maggie Landon all had successful three-point shots in the game.

Overall, the Lady Cats have a lot of good things to take away from their effort at Mountain View. Even though the team continued to struggle with shooting, the ladies successfully got open for good shooting opportunities – doubling their scoring effort from the last game against the Lady Buffaloes. The difference in the game came down to Mountain View being able to get more shots to drop into the net.

Dazlynn Hunt had 4 points, Maggie Landon had 3 points, Kamryn Farrell had 3 points, Ina King had 7 points, Hanna Hill had 3 points, Davdine King had 2 points and Austin Slagle had 5 points.

Coach Weinberger used 11 of 12 players in the game, and said he felt good about the direction the team is taking. “We were getting the shots we wanted but were just not able to get the ball to fall into the net,” said Weinberger.

The final score was Mountain View 47 and Thermopolis 27.

The Lady Cats go to Lovell this week for another conference game on Friday.