Lady Cats go one and two

The Hot Springs County High School Lady Cats basketball team took a long bus ride to the southwest corner of the state last week-end to play in the Flaming Gorge Classic. The Classic is a large tournament, drawing fourteen teams, from Class 2A, Class 3A and Class 4A schools, with games scheduled in both Green River and Rock Springs.

The tournament gave the Lady Cats some tough competition, and an opportunity to gain some experience playing against good basketball teams. The Lady Cats played two 4A schools, and one 2A school, in the tournament – demonstrating that they have the talent, and the determination, to pit their skills against 3A and 4A schools.

On Friday morning, the Lady Cats opened the weekend against Laramie, and held their own against the number 5 ranked 4A team. At the buzzer, the Lady Cats were down by just two points. The final score was Laramie 54, and Thermopolis 52. Laramie would, eventually, sweep their opponents, going 3 and 0 for the tournament.

Friday afternoon, saw the Lady Cats pitted against another 4A team, this time from Evanston. Earlier in the day, Evanston had defeated a 3A team, but found themselves outmatched against the Lady Cats – who defeated the Red Devils by sixteen points – giving new head coach, Shawna Farrell, her first win as a head coach.

The Lady Cats played well against Evanston, demonstrating talent and poise, while battling a very talented opponent, and working through some foul troubles. Kamryn Farrell had four 3-point shots, and Jayssie Owsley had three 3-point shots. Austin Slagle had a great game, owning the offensive, and the defensive, boards - while serving eviction notices to any and all Red Devils who took a chance at coming into the paint. Final score – Thermopolis 60, Evanston 44.

The Saturday morning contest, against Class 2A Kemmerer, proved to be a let-down after the stellar performance against Evanston. Both teams got off to a slow start, with shots refusing to drop for both opponents. The referees had, apparently, determined to “let the girls play,” which allowed the Lady Rangers to play a bit more physical. The Lady Cats, at first, appeared to be surprised by the physicality – but not for long, as they quickly began to “give as good as they got.”

At the end of the third quarter, the Lady Cats were down by six points, however, in the fourth quarter, the team suffered from some ill-conceived passing attempts - which led to turn-overs, and to points for Kemmerer. In that quarter, the Lady Cats did not put forward the caliber of skill level, which they duly possess, and which they had so well demonstrated in the Evanston game.

Hanna Hill, Jayssie Owsley and Kamryn Farrell each had 3-point shots. Austin Slagle, again, had a good game – scoring eight of the teams points. In the end, Kemmerer won by a score of 44 to 35.

The Lady Cats continue to be hounded by a tight defensive press, leading to far too many panic passes, which end up in the hands of their opponents. Teams will, no doubt, continue to deploy the press - until the Lady Cats can demonstrate that they have the ability to work through that kind of heavy pressure.

The Lady Cats are now into their much-deserved holiday break, and will be back in competition at home, for the Class 2A Smackdown Tournament on January 10 and 11, 2025.