Seasons Are on the Line for Laramie [VIDEOS]

For the Laramie Lady Plainsmen and Plainsmen basketball teams, it all comes down to one game Thursday against Cheyenne Central.

Both Laramie teams will be playing the Indians in a first round, loser out game at the 4A East Regional Basketball Championships. The good news for both squads is the tournament is being hosted at Laramie High School.

The Lady Plainsmen won their game last year over Cheyenne South to qualify for the state tournament, but the Plainsmen fell short. Laramie is trying to get both teams qualified for state for the first time since 2013.

Laramie Lady Plainsmen

Laramie is the higher seed for a second straight year, as they took fourth in the conference during the regular season. They draw the No. 5 seeded Central Indians at 4 p.m. Thursday.

LHS swept Central in the regular season with 43-31 and 51-41 victories in the last month. This will be the first post-season meeting between the two schools in girls’ basketball since the 2014 regional at Cheyenne South High School. Central won that meeting 39-31.

Laramie head coach Laura Pollard said going into this big game they have a belief they can beat Central based on the two regular season games, but anything can happen in the post-season.

“We concentrated on the defensive end the last couple of days because that’s where we could’ve done a better job up there (last Thursday at Central). I think we know what to clean up.”

She is also pleased that they’re playing the game at home.

Senior guard Sekoya Romero and senior forward Shyann Bastian talked about the big game with KOWB’s David Settle.

It all comes down to Thursday at 4 p.m. The winner moves on to the regional semifinals against the top seed Gillette Camels Friday at 7 p.m. The loser has their season come to a close.

Laramie Plainsmen

It’s a case where these two teams probably know each other about as well as any two in class 4A. For the sixth time in the last two seasons, the Plainsmen face-off against the Central Indians.

Laramie is the No. 6 seed at regionals for the third straight season. They will also be playing Central for the third time in the last four years at this tourney.

Fourth-ranked Central finished tied for second in the 4A East conference standings, but lost a tie breaker to cross-town rival East and wound up the third seed. They swept LHS in the regular season with a 72-69 win in overtime in Laramie and last week’s 82-71 victory in Cheyenne.

Laramie has dropped five straight to the Indians, but like the girls, will be looking to take advantage of the home court. The game is at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

Plainsmen head coach Travis Brown said he realizes both teams are in the same situation.

“I love the scenario in a sense that we’re at home, playing an opponent I think we know we can beat, to be honest with you. We’ve just got to put a full four quarters together. I’m excited because I think we’ve got a lot of players that have a lot to prove. That’s a good storm in my mind.”

He believes rebounding will be a big key in the game.

Senior guards Chad Browning and Nate Burman discussed the one-game season with KOWB’s David Settle.

Your season is on the line Thursday at 8:30 p.m. It’s a chance to win, qualify for state and advance to play two more games at the regional tournament or your season will end.

Broadcast Coverage

KOWB (AM 1290) will provide live coverage of both games Thursday from Laramie High School. David Settle and VerDon Hoopes will call the game on the radio, on KOWB’s live stream and on the KOWB app.

Laramie High School will be providing a live video stream of the regional tournament games with the NFHS Network on a Pay-Per-View basis.