Lady Tigers falter at 2A State Tournament

Cory Griffith
Posted 3/7/18

Courtney Rowley takes the shot against Wyoming Indian. Photo/Lisa Shaw

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Lady Tigers falter at 2A State Tournament

Posted

After slipping to the #4 seed at regionals, there was hope the Lady Tigers could right the ship and make a run at the 2A State Tournament. The first-round matchup with upstart Wyoming Indian had the makings of intrigue Thursday evening at Casper College. A Miranda Gilkey three pointer got the Tiger faithful cheering the 9-7 first quarter lead. Little did anyone know it would be one of just three three-pointers made by NCHS the entire weekend (in 35 atts). Thankfully the Lady Chiefs were almost as cold from all over too. WI managed a slim 15-13 halftime lead before the Trosper cousins carried them in the second half.

Alexandria the junior, had ten of her 16 in the second half and Tianna the senior had nine of her dozen, as the Lady Tigers couldn’t find a hot shooter. The slight WI lead became 26-22 with eight minutes to go, but again NCHS failed to make a run. The explosive offense fans had been witnessing all season was gone, as they settled for long shot attempts. The Lady Chiefs stretched the lead to a final of 40-30, in what became a surprising run to the championship game- while crushing Lusk’s hope of a title in the process.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NCHS 9 4 9 8  30

WIHS 7 8 11 14  40

TEAM STATS

NCHS: 12/32 FG, 1/19 3PT, 3/9 FT, 34 REB, 15 TO, 12 PF

WIHS: 17/41 FG, 1/8 3PT, 5/8 FT, 32 REB, 11 PF, 14 TO

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Scoring- Gaukel 6, Hales 6, Rowley 6, Gilkey 5, Smith 5, Lyons 2. Rebounds- Smith 8, Gaukel 5, Hales 5.

The loss sent NCHS into a loser out game against Rocky Mountain Friday morning at the Casper Events Center. Both teams struggled with the bigness of the arena to begin, but a pair of Ashley Christianson three pointers within 55 seconds seemed to calm the Lusk nerves. The Lady Tigers pulled out to an eight point lead after one stanza and by halftime it was 26-14 Lusk.

Throughout the second half NCHS continued to outpace the Lady Grizz but again found shots hard to get in the hoop. Gaukel had 11 of her 13 points after the break, as the Lady Tigers were able to extend it to 15 in the 49-34 win.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NCHS 16 10 11 12  49

RMHS 8 6 11 9  34

TEAM STATS

NCHS: 14/39 FG, 2/6 3PT, 15/23 FT, 35 REB, 16 TO, 18 PF

RMHS: 10/31 FG, 4/13 3PT, 10/26 FT, 29 REB, 18 PF, 18 TO

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Scoring- Gaukel 13, Gilkey 10, Smith 10, Christianson 6, Hales 3, Rowley 3, Lyons 2, Shaw 2. Rebounds- Hales 9, Smith 6. Steals- Hales 6.

The win over RM gave the Lady Tigers a chance for the Consolation trophy, but found SEWAC rival Pine Bluffs waiting. In the first three matchups they split on their home courts before the Lady Hornets won at regionals last week. Both teams seemed comfortable with a slower pace and more deliberate approach, yet Lusk had continued shooting problems. Gaukel buried a pair of free throws near the end of the first quarter for the slim 7-6 lead. PB took it back 20-18 as halftime approached. A look at the shooting and NCHS was just three of 17 from the floor and 0/5 from beyond the arc.

Fouls began to mount up for both squads in a game that ended with a combined 66 free throw attempts.

While NCHS kept Kammie Ragsdale mostly in check, it was soph Hyleigh Fornstrom that kept PB close as the teams were tied at 29 after three. She had 12 of her 16 points in the second and third periods.

The Lady Tigers last of nine lead changes came at the 4:58 mark at 37-36. As the game came down to the free throw lines, the Lady Hornets made the better of their tosses with 19 of 30 for the game, while NCHS was 21 of 36. A weakness all season finally exposed the Lady Tigers as PB won the game 46-41. Despite the disappointing finish, the Lady Tigers (22-6) won their first game at state since 2007, and have many key players expected to return next season.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NCHS 7 11 11 12  41

PBHS 6 14 9 17  46

TEAM STATS

NCHS: 10/32 FG, 0/10 3PT, 21/37 FT, 37 REB, 18 TO, 21 PF

PBHS: 13/41 FG, 1/5 3PT, 19/30 FT, 40 REB, 26 PF, 15 TO

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Scoring- Gaukel 14, Hales 9, Gilkey 8, Smith 6, Rowley 3, Blackburn 1. Rebounds- Smith 11, Hales 5.