Laramie Seeks Conference Wins at South
Two teams in both games of a doubleheader will find their first conference win Friday when Laramie plays at Cheyenne South.
Between both girl’s and boy’s teams for both schools, they all stand at 0-2 in the Southeast Quadrant after losing to Cheyenne Central and Cheyenne East last week.
The girl’s game is at 5:30 p.m. followed by the boys’ game at 7 p.m.
Mired in a six-game losing streak, it’s been a difficult week of preparation for the Laramie Lady Plainsmen with a number of issues, but mainly sickness. Several players have missed practice and All-State senior Jennifer Aadland will not play in the game.
Head coach Rod Tyson admitted it’s been a rocky week.
“I haven’t had all the players in practice. Kids have been sick. Coaches have been sick. It’s just been really rough.”
Laramie enters with a 3-9 overall record and 0-2 in league play. With Aadland out, they’ll miss nearly 18 points, 11 rebounds, and over four blocked shots per game.
Tyson said with no Aadland in their lineup, “Everybody has to step up. People who are healthy, and people who are just coming back to practice and feeling a little bit better, they’ll have to come in and play well, as well.”
Coach Tyson added that he hadn’t been able to put in a game plan because of all the missing players.
Cheyenne South (5-7, 0-2) is led by sophomore’s Calysta Martinez and Riley Van Tassell. Martinez averages 13.9 points per game, while Van Tassell is at 12.3 points and team-high 7.4 rebounds per game.
Laramie has won the last five meetings between the two schools in girls’ basketball.
The Plainsmen are seeking to stop their own skid, as they’ve dropped two straight. They come in at 6-6 on the season and 0-2 in the conference.
With four days of practice to get ready, Laramie head coach Travis Brown said it’s been nice to focus on just one opponent.
“We were able to get back to working on some of the deficiencies we had the last week. Kids worked hard, and we’re excited to get back out and play.”
Brown added hopefully they can put to use what they’ve worked on.
LHS is led by senior Hudda Herrera. He’s averaging 17.8 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore Christian Mickelson, who played his first seven games this season with the Bison, is at 12.9 points per game and a team-best 2.4 assists per game.
Cheyenne South (2-10, 0-2) is led by Kaleb Phillips and Cameron Bird, their only returning varsity players from last year. Phillips is averaging 11.4 points per game and Bird is at 11.2 points per game. Phillips also snags a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game.
Brown says, “South is a team that can muddy a game up. They’ve got some good athletes. We’ve just got to make sure that we can come out and take away their energy early, otherwise, I think we’ll be in a dog fight. If we can, hopefully, zap that energy early, and put the pressure on them, hopefully, we can find some success.”
The teams have split the last four meetings in boys’ basketball.
KOWB (AM 1290) will broadcast the doubleheader live from Cheyenne South High School. David Settle will call the action. Coverage will start at 5 p.m. You can listen on the radio, online, through the KOWB app or any Amazon Alexa-enabled device.