Plainsmen Win, Lady Plainsmen Lose in Season Debut
It was good news, bad news on the first day of the high school basketball season for Laramie in tournament play Thursday.
The Laramie Plainsmen held off the Cody Broncs 60-55 in Riverton, while the Laramie Lady Plainsmen lost to the Cody Fillies in Casper, 43-39.
Laramie Lady Plainsmen
A cold shooting day and a few too many turnovers in the final quarter led to Laramie’s four-point defeat in the return of head coach Rod Tyson.
Coach Tyson knew his team had to go through the feeling out process so he could find out more about his team.
“Down the stretch there, we made some very, very poor choices. I would tell ‘em what play to run, one of them would forget the play. Those are things we can clean up. Overall, I think we played really well, we played hard, but we’ve got to be smarter.”
The Lady Plainsmen attempted 17 more shots than Cody and had a 44-40 edge on the glass, but shot just 25 percent from the floor.
Tyson added, “We couldn’t throw it in the ocean. That’s a problem, but that’s also stuff you can clean up, and there’s a couple of times we had some big rebounds, and one time Jen (Aadland) dribbled out to shoot a jumper. I’m like, Jen you just go right up with those, so those are things I think we can clean up and maybe get some stuff on the inside.”
Sophomore Kayla Vasquez and freshman Janey Adair led Laramie with eight points apiece. Senior Jennifer Aadland added five points and 12 rebounds.
The game featured six lead changes and was tied seven times. Neither team led by more than seven points.
The Fillies scored the first six of the game, but LHS responded with the next seven for a brief lead. It was tied at 12-12 after the first quarter. Cody took a 20-18 lead at the half. Laramie went on a 9-0 run early in the second half for a 29-22 lead. Back came the Fillies, who rallied with the final seven points of the third and tied it at 29-29 going into the fourth.
A basket by Cody’s McKayla Moss gave them the lead for good. The Fillies built their edge to 43-36 before a DaiJane Giron three-pointer, but Laramie ran out of time and fell by four points.
Laramie returns to action Friday versus Rock Springs. The game is at 6 p.m. from Natrona County High School. KOWB (AM 1290) will broadcast the game live. You can also listen to the KOWB app or online. Coverage with David Settle will start at 5:30 p.m.
Laramie Plainsmen
Hudda Herrera scored 21 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had five blocked shots to lead the Plainsmen to a season-opening victory over the Cody Broncs in Riverton.
Laramie got off to a good start and led 14-9 after the opening quarter. They held a 27-23 edge at halftime. LHS exploded for 24 points in the third quarter and enjoyed a 51-42 advantage. Cody out-scored the Plainsmen in the fourth, but Laramie held on for a five-point victory.
Plainsmen head coach Travis Brown said it was enjoyable to get a win in their debut.
“It was nice to see the boys’ hard work the past couple of weeks pay off and see them implement what we emphasized in practice within the game plan.”
The Plainsmen shot 44 percent from the field and made seven 3-pointers, one from seven different players. Tyler Oppie was also in double figures with 10 points. Nine of the 11 Laramie players scored in the game. LHS added 12 steals defensively.
Brown added, “I thought we played great for our season opener. We played for the guys next to us and continued to lay the foundation for a successful season, but like every team in December have a lot to work on and build off of moving forward.”
The Plainsmen take on the Rock Springs Tigers Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Riverton Middle School.