Lady Cats sweep the weekend

The Hot Springs County High School Lady Cats basketball team began the second round of conference play last week, coming away with two important wins as the post-season looms large. Just one more week remains in the regular season.

Coming into the weekend, the Lady Cats sat in second place in the 2A Northwest, with an overall record of 9-9, and an in-quad record of 2 -1. Coming off a split weekend last week, with a win against Big Piney and a loss to Kemmerer, the Lady Cats continue to be ranked number four in the 2A.

On Friday night, the Lady Cats hosted the Lady Wranglers of Shoshoni for “Pink Out Night.” The Lady Cats had defeated the Lady Wranglers in Shoshoni three weeks ago, albeit by just a single point. Shoshoni is a very young team, with nearly half of the varsity team coming from the freshman class. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Lady Wranglers have yet to find a win in the 2A Northwest Quad this year.

Despite their youth, however, Shoshoni is not a team that can be overlooked. They have a number of great outside shooters among those freshman, and they are not in any way inhibited against attempting the long-shot. They have quick hands on defense, swarm to the ball, and are not afraid to double-team from anywhere on the court.

The first half of the game was a challenge for both squads, as each team struggled to get baskets to drop, and with both teams creating a number of unnecessary turn-overs on offense. In the third quarter, however, the Lady Cats strung together some consistent offensive possessions and went up by 23 points.

From there, it was all Lady Cats. Indeed, some late and accurate three-point shooting by Shoshoni is the only thing that kept the Lady Wranglers in the game. The Lady Cats took the win by a score of 77-45.

The Lady Cats continued their sparkling offensive production – going 47% from inside the arc; 25% from long-range; and 60% from the free-throw line. The team had 48 rebounds; 16 assists; and 12 steals. Austin Slagle led the scoring with 17 points and 12 rebounds, followed by Jayssie Owsley with 15 points and 4 rebounds, Kamryn Farrell with 14 points, and 7 rebounds, Hanna Hill with 9 points and 6 rebounds, and Chloee Owsley with 8 points and 6 rebounds.

On Saturday afternoon, the Lady Cats were in Greybull to take on another in-quad opponent in the Lady Buffs. In their first meeting this year, in Thermopolis on January 25, the Lady Cats took the win by 31 points, and Greybull was now determined to get even.

Overall, the Lady Cats played a bit inconsistently – exemplified by a 16 point unanswered run to get the game started, but followed immediately by a 12 point run by Greybull. Hanna Hill was sporting a hot hand in the first quarter of the game, putting up two three-point shots to get the scoring started, and eventually dropping 8 of the Lady Cats’ first 13 points. The Lady Buffs were able to tie the score at 17 in the middle of the second quarter, however, from there the Lady Cats were in control, pulling away in the third quarter, to win by 13 points (68-55).

Again, the Lady Cats were consistent in their shooting – going 46% from inside the arc; 35% from long-range; and 51% from the free-throw line. Thermopolis had 33 rebounds; 19 assists; and 17 steals. Jayssie Owsley had an amazing game – putting up 23 points, with 6 rebounds, and a remarkable 7 steals. Kamryn Farrell had 15 points and 3 rebounds, Hanna Hill had 14 points and 2 rebounds, and Austin Slagle had 12 points and 7 rebounds.

This week marks the final week of the regular season for the Lady Cats. They will face Wind River at home on Thursday night, and then for Senior Night they will meet the visiting team from Rocky Mountain on Friday night. Rocky Mountain will be a big game for the Lady Cats, with huge implications for the post-season in terms of seeding for regionals.