Laramie Girls Beat Sheridan, While Plainsmen Fall Again

For only the second time this season the Laramie Lady Plainsmen won back-to-back games thanks to a 46-36 victory at home Saturday over Sheridan.

Laramie (5-12) used a 15-2 run to take the lead for good in the first quarter. They led by 14 at halftime, and even though Sheridan closed within seven in the fourth, LHS made free throws that closed out the victory.

Head coach Rod Tyson said we'll definitely take that.

"The girls were working hard. We just need to get smarter, but we haven't been at the end of the game up 10 points, so we've got to learn from that. I told them that's when you've gotta be really smart, stop fouling, that's the only way they can get back in the game, stopping the clock. We learned a lot from this game. Overall, they worked hard, we got a win. They (Sheridan) beat South last night, so they came in ready to play."

Jennifer Aadland led the way with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Janey Adair added a career-high 11 points.

The Lady Plainsmen trailed Sheridan 6-2, but their run helped them to a 17-8 lead after the first quarter. They held the Broncs to six points in the second period. It was 27-14 at halftime. Both teams scored nine points in the third. The final frame saw Sheridan mount a comeback, but Laramie made 10-14 free throws and pulled out the win.

LHS shot only 23 percent from the field. They did go 18-22 (82%) at the foul line.

Sheridan (2-14) shot 26 percent for the game. They also out-rebounded the Lady Plainsmen 49-33.

Tyson said in order to keep it rolling, "We've definitely got to protect the ball better than we did today (Saturday). That's the one thing that got us. We had a pretty good first half, except for the last minute I think, over at there gym (Cheyenne East). We need to have four good quarters of really smart basketball, so we're in the game at the end."

Laramie hosts Cheyenne East Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and goes to Cheyenne Central Friday at 6 p.m.

Laramie Plainsmen

The losing streak reached four last Saturday, as the Plainsmen ran into the top-ranked Sheridan Broncs and lost 79-51.

Sheridan (16-1) jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never trailed. Thanks to 21 points in the second, the Broncs held a 39-20 lead at halftime. Sheridan shot 64 percent in the second half and built their lead to 39-points in the fourth quarter. LHS rallied thanks to six 3-pointers in the final frame. That helped cut the deficit, but the Broncs cruised to the 28-point victory.

Plainsmen head coach Travis Brown said they (Sheridan) are a quality team.

"Both well-coached and quality players. Truthfully, I thought, if we had given that effort and played with that discipline yesterday (Friday versus Natrona), we would have had a better result. All I asked for them is to show that they're making progress. The score doesn't reflect, to me, actually the benefit we got from that game."

Laramie (7-10) was led by Christian Mickelson with 14 points. Will Tyser added nine, while Trey Enzi followed with eight points. LHS shot 36 percent for the game. They were 10-21, 48 percent, from beyond the arc.

Sheridan had four players in double figures led by Gus Wright, who scored a game-high 21 points. The Broncs shot 56 percent from the field. They also enjoyed a 41-21 edge in rebounding.

Brown added, "We've got to make some adjustments (in the second round of league play). Any way you look at regionals, you probably play one of those teams in the second round, so we've got to show we can beat one of them. It's really about getting some momentum going by week three. It's almost like, in some ways you gotta reset, and say, hey, three weeks from now, we've got to be ready to go."

The Plainsmen return to the court Thursday versus Cheyenne East at 7 p.m. That is followed by a road game at Cheyenne Central Friday at 7:30 p.m.