In a WyoPreps #1 vs #4 rematch from last week in Glenrock, NCHS knocked off the top-ranked Lady Buffs with a come from behind win Friday night in Tiger Gym. While the Lady Tigers kept All Stater Ky Sorenson in check, they struggled to find an answer for Kendall Wright. The Greybull junior had nine of her team’s 15 first quarter points while Lusk managed just eight. The visitors held the 19-14 halftime lead in a physical, defensive game between two ranked teams. The visitors held their lead during the third period as Ashley Christianson and Amanda Smith combined for all nine of Lusk’s points. Head coach Deb Murray put freshmen Courtney Rowley and Riley Shaw at the top of the press and had Wright and Sorenson flustered. The offense came alive when a Taylor Gaukel three pointer brought Lusk within 34-30 with four minutes to play, and Rowley drained another to cut the lead to one. NCHS took the 39-37 lead on Trisha Hales’ trey with 1:01 left. The Lady Buffs late three pointer was not enough as Lusk won round two by the 43-41 score. The game lived up to its billing-and would not be surprising if a third time happens in Casper in two months.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

GREYBULL 15 4 9 13  41

NCHS 8 6 9 20  43

TEAM STATS

GREYBULL 17/36 FG, 3/5 3PT, 4/10 FT, 33 REB, 23 PF, 32 TO

NCHS 13/43 FG, 3/6 3PT, 14/27 FT, 29 REB, 14 PF, 21 TO

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Scoring- Smith 11, Gaukel 10, Christianson 7, Rowley 6, Hales 5, Gilkey 2, Lyons 2. Rebounds- Gaukel 5, Christianson 5. Steals- Gaukel 7.

On Saturday morning the Lady Tigers came out quickly against a talented, but inexperienced Thunder Basin sophomore squad. Lusk led 12-4 after one quarter as Murray began rotating players. The lead grew to 28-10 at the half before the Lady Bolts battled back. TB outscored NCHS 17-14 in the third as both teams had found their scoring touch. Eight of ten Lady Tigers that played scored and nine had at least one rebound in the comfortable 59-43 win. 

SCORE BY QUARTERS

TB SOPHS 4 6 17 16  43

NCHS 12 16 14 17  59

TEAM STATS

TB SOPHS 16/51 FG, 6/15 3PT, 5/8 FT, 33 REB, 17 PF, 15 TO

NCHS 24/54 FG, 0/2 3PT, 11/21 FT, 45 REB, 10 PF, 14 TO

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Scoring- Gaukel 12, Gilkey 10, Hales 8, Rowley 7, Christianson 7, Lyons 6, Smith 6, Shaw 3. Rebounds- Gaukel 9, Hales 8, Smith 8, Gilkey 6, Christianson 5.

Gaukel flirted with a triple double with 16 points, 10 steals and eight rebounds (and five assists) as the Lady Tigers faced little resistance from the Cheyenne South JV in the Jamboree finale. The Lady Tigers put up a 19-9 first quarter lead and at halftime the lead was 36-21. Again Murray subbed frequently as NCHS rolled on to the 71-40 win and three game sweep. Smith put up her first double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

CS JV 9 12 8 11  40

NCHS 19 17 15 20  71

TEAM STATS

CS JV 18/49 FG, 3/10 3PT, 4/12 FT, 35 REB, 19 PF, 32 TO

NCHS 27/59 FG, 0/3 3PT, 17/32 FT, 46 REB, 13 PF, 23 TO

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Scoring- Smith 19, Gaukel 16, Gilkey 10, Rowley 6, Christianson 5, Lyons 4, Blackburn 3, Sturman 3, Hales 3, Graham 2. Rebounds- Smith 13, Gaukel 8, Hales 5, Lyons 5. Assists- Gaukel 5. Steals- Gaukel 10.

The JV won two out of three at home last weekend before a game against Guernsey-Sunrise on Tuesday. They easily handled Glenrock 53-14 as Anna Richardson led with ten points. Abby Kottwitz scored seven while Julianne Graham, Bryn Bruch and Makena Engelker added six apiece. Against Greybull the Lady Tigers won 53-38 as Rowley led the way with 18 points. Shaw scored nine and Sturman eight. Against Arvada-Clearmont in an early Saturday game the Lady Tigers lost their first game of the season by a 41-37 score. The C squad went to Guernsey on Dec. 12 and came back with a 44-23 win. A rematch at Tiger Gym was held Tuesday night.