As the calendar turned 2017 into history, the NCHS Lady Tigers found themselves in unfamiliar territory with Wyopreps top billing in the 2A coaches/media poll. It is believed to be the first time since 2003 or ’04 Lusk is at the top of the rankings. While rankings in December and January mean little to coaches- they’re more interested in the ones in March. NCHS got 2018 off to a superb start with three convincing wins and another over Tongue River by a dozen. Emma Ceaglske and Taylor Gaukel put 3A Newcastle on notice early last Tuesday at Tiger Gym with three pointers 53 seconds apart. Miranda Gilkey was on her way to a career high 25 points with seven in the first quarter as Lusk made their statement with a 23-6 opening stanza. The Dogies warmed up a bit but not enough as NCHS led 37-15 at halftime. Ceaglske and Gilkey nailed treys as the lead grew to 57-28, en route to the 72-31 victory.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NEWCASTLE 6 9 13 3  31

NCHS 23 14 20 15  72

TEAM STATS

NEWCASTLE: N/A

NCHS: 25/59 FG, 5/14 3PT, 7/10 FT, 56 REB, 21 TO, 20 PF

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Scoring- Gilkey 25, Gaukel 10, Lyons 10, Rowley 9, Ceaglske 6, Blackburn 2, Christianson 2, Sturman 2, Hales 2, Waldock 2, Shaw 2. Rebounds- Hales 10, Lyons 10, Rowley 6.

Facing 1A Kaycee Friday morning, Lusk didn’t seem too sluggish off the bus with a 10-1 opening quarter. By halftime the lead was 25-12 before a third period eruption with a 23-1 run on the Lady Bucs. NCHS coasted to the 62-20 win as 11 of 14 players scored for the Lady Tigers again.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NCHS 10 15 23 14  62

KAYCEE 1 11 1 7  20

TEAM STATS

NCHS: 27/51 FG, 0/11 3PT, 8/18 FT, 46 REB, 20 TO, 22 PF

KAYCEE: 5/26 FG, 1/6 3PT, 9/21 FT, 21 REB, 14 PF, 33 TO

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Scoring- Smith 16, Gilkey 11, Gaukel 7, Rowley 7, Lyons 5, Sturman 4, Shaw 4, Ceaglske 2, Christianson 2, Hales 2, Graham 2. Rebounds- Smith 11, Rowley 7, Gaukel 6.

The Lady Tigers faced the home team Friday night and took the 16-5 first quarter lead behind Smith’s ten points. The senior eclipsed her previous career high of 21, with 22 points to go with a dozen rebounds. Lusk improved the lead to twelve by halftime behind scoring from seven different girls. A big third quarter pushed the lead to 44-27 before a late surge came up short for the Lady Rams. NCHS won going away 58-40 as the entire roster got playing time.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NCHS 16 13 15 14  58

BH 5 12 10 13  40

TEAM STATS

NCHS: 21/49 FG, 0/1 3PT, 16/30 FT, 46 REB, 21 TO, 18 PF

BH: 16/47 FG, 1/6 3PT, 7/16 FT, 28 REB, 21 PF, 22 TO

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Scoring- Smith 22, Gaukel 9, Rowley 8, Gilkey 6, Hales 6, Lyons 4, Ceaglske 2, Christianson 1. Rebounds- Smith 12, Gaukel 9, Rowley 7. Steals- Gaukel 6.

A feisty Lady Eagle team gave a sluggish NCHS fits Saturday afternoon at Dayton. The Lady Tigers led 26-21 at halftime behind a pair of Gilkey treys. But TR would not go away, they matched Lusk in the third and were within four points late in the game before Gaukel buried four free throws in the final minutes to seal the 55-43 win.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NCHS 13 13 11 18  55

TR 7 14 11 11  43

TEAM STATS

NCHS: 19/42 FG, 3/20 3PT, 8/15 FT, 41 REB, 15 TO, 14 PF

TR: 17/46 FG, 4/13 3PT, 5/10 FT, 39 REB, 16 PF, 24 TO

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Scoring- Rowley 14, Gilkey 13, Gaukel 10, Hales 5, Smith 5, Lyons 4, Ceaglske 2Christianson 2. Rebounds- Hales 10, Gaukel 7, Smith 7.Assists- Hales 5.

The JV beat Newcastle 56-25 at Tiger Gym before a two quarter win over Kaycee 24-9. In an odd scheduling quirk, NCHS then faced BH for two quarters and won 20-15. On Saturday they went up to Dayton and beat TR 46-19. 

This week NCHS hosts Lingle-Ft Laramie Friday evening (4 and 5:30 p.m.) before a trip to Burns on Saturday for games at 11:30 a.m., 1 and 2:30 p.m.