Lady Bobcats ready to bounce back after uneven weekend

THERMOPOLIS - With Wheatland and Torrington on the schedule this week the Hot Springs County Lady Bobcats (5-10, 0-3) are gearing up to rebound after a pair of tough losses against Rawlins and No.1 Douglas last weekend.

Hosting 3A East conference foe the Rawlins Lady Outlaws on Friday, Thermopolis kept the game close but ultimately fell 45-40.

"A competitive 3A (West) Quadrant game," said HSCHS girls basketball coach Cory Sova, "Rawlins hit some big shots to keep a slim margin most of the game. We had many good looks at the basket throughout the game but didn't shoot well, especially near the hoop."

As a team Thermopolis shot 6 of 19 from the 3-point line and, while undersized, tied Rawlins in the rebounding category at 35 each. Much of the team statistics showed two very evenly matched teams. The one area the Lady 'Cats lacked in was shooting inside the 3-point line.

The Lady Outlaws shot 12 of 22 while the Lady 'Cats were 7 of 28.

"With the exception of Rawlins shooting much better than us inside the 3-point arc, it was quite an even game statistically," said coach Sova.

Senior Korey Smith led Thermopolis in scoring with 16 points and grabbed five rebounds; junior Haley McDermott added 13 points and senior Ashlynn Weber scored seven points and pulled down seven rebounds.

"Korey (Smith) shot well from outside making three 3-point shots in less than a minute in the third quarter, when the game was starting to get away from us ... Ashlynn (Weber) gave us some needed scoring and had a season high seven rebounds," said coach Sova. "Haley (McDermott) went to the basket well and also hit a couple of nice mid-range jumpers. She is beginning to play better and better. She works extremely hard to improve her skills and it is beginning to show."

Vs. Douglas

Going against the WyoPreps No.1-ranked 3A girls basketball team was every bit the challenge for Thermopolis but the team battled it out and going forward, know the improvements they need to make after the 77-25 loss.

"We were a step or two slow the entire game. On top of this, the Lady Bearcats shot the ball extremely well. We learned a lesson about basketball intensity and how to shoot the ball from around the hoop, from the free-throw line and from outside the 3-point arc," said coach Sova, "As disappointing as this was for us, we left the gym knowing that this game made us better. The girls know they are capable of much more."

The first quarter started poorly for Thermopolis as Douglas outscored them 31-4 and forced 12 turnovers. If there is a silver lining, after the first quarter the Lady 'Cats committed only five more turnovers in the game.

"They are aggressive and athletic with wonderful balance. They have a number of girls who can score and they all play hard. Teams will have to play awfully well to beat them this year," said coach Sova when talking about Douglas.

The top three scorers in the game for Thermopolis were McDermott with 11, Weber with 6 and freshman Sesi Johnson with 4.

This week's games

With back-to-back home games the Lady 'Cats will look to keep working hard and improving.

"Obviously we will continue to work on game-like shooting opportunities in practice. We also have a number of 5-on-5 team situations we have to clean up. We have to begin executing better on both ends of the court. This week will be a big challenge and I am the confident the girls will continue to battle and work on putting a full game, or two, together," said Sova.

Friday they host Wheatland at 5:30 p.m., "(Wheatland) has a number of tall, strong girls that we will have to contend with along with the top guard in 3A and the state. She will definitely play college ball next year," said coach Sova.

Saturday, Torrington comes to town with tip off at 12:30 p.m. "They are similar to us sizewise and play very hard. They have played much better lately so it will be another tough matchup for us," said coach Sova.