Lady Bobcats to honor seniors in final home game Thursday

THERMOPOLIS - It has been a tough season for the Hot Springs County Lady Bobcats but this determined group is out to finish the final four games of the regular season strong.

Last week the Lady Bobcats (5-12 overall, 0-3 3A East: West conference) hosted Wheatland (9-6 overall, 2-2 3A East: East conference) on Friday and Torrington (7-8 overall, 2-1 3A East: East conference) on Saturday. The game vs. Wheatland went south for Thermopolis but Saturday the team had a better performance, yet, still lost against Torrington.

Vs. Wheatland

Thermopolis started the game in a 10-2 hole but weathered the storm and went on a 10-3 scoring run to pull within one point at the end of the first quarter at 13-12.

The next two quarters would be the Lady 'Cats demise as Wheatland outscored them 34-13. As a team Thermopolis struggled from the 3-point line shooting 3 of 15 and from inside the 3-point arc they shot 8 of 28.

"We had numerous good looks," said HSCHS coach Cory Sova. "The girls were moving the ball well and running their offenses but shooting 26 percent overall hurt our chances. Also, Wheatland made nine 3-pointers and had been struggling with their perimeter shooting the past couple of weeks."

One improvement for the Lady 'Cats was they were able to get to the free-throw line much more than they have at any point in the season. When they got to the line they made the most of it, making 15 of 24 attempts.

Ashlynn Weber led the team in scoring with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Freshman Sesi Johnson had her best varsity game in her young career pulling down 12 rebounds and scoring nine points.

"Ashlynn (Weber) made a mix of inside and outside shots and made both of her free-throw attempts. She also had four rebounds and three assists in a good performance," said coach Sova. "Sesi (Johnson) easily had her career high in rebounds at the varsity level grabbing 12. She is feeling more and more comfortable and is giving us a needed lift."

Vs. Torrington 

The Lady 'Cats rallied from the Wheatland game and came out strong against the Torrington Lady Trailblazers.

Thermopolis took a 10-4 lead at the end of the first quarter but, again, poor shooting led to bad second- and third-quarter performances. Torrington outscored them 27-12 in those two quarters and in the fourth both teams played to a 14-14 tie as the Lady 'Cats fell 45-36.

"Again, we struggled in quarters two and three. We will have to take a look at video and try to get this cleaned up," said coach Sova. "Our shooting once again hurt us badly. Our total was 19 percent from the field. If we could have shot just shot 29 percent, it would have been enough to win the game ... The girls will continue to work on this."

The Lady 'Cats were 5 of 23 from beyond the arc and 5 of 29 on 2-point field goals. While the team did shoot poorly, coach Sova thought his team's defensive intensity and rebounding was where it needed to be. Thermopolis forced Torrington into committing 25 turnovers and hit the boards hard, pulling down 37 total rebounds, 17 of which were offensive.

"They certainly, defensively, got after Torrington. Rebounding was quite even overall, we did get an impressive 17 offensive rebounds," said Sova.

Junior Haley McDermott had an impressive stat line with 15 points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists. Senior Jules Ward returned to action, after missing the three previous games due to injury, scoring two points, three rebounds and three steals. Korey Smith had 10 points and four rebounds and Liz Rhodes scored one point, pulled down five rebounds and dished out four assists.

This week's schedule has the Lady 'Cats at home for the final time this season. Thursday's game, at 5:30 p.m. vs. Worland, will be the final home game for seniors Makayla George, Jules Ward, Lizzy Lofink, Korey Smith, Ashlynn Weber and Liz Rhodes. The game will also be a "Pink Out" game.

"This week will be an emotional one," said coach Sova. "Hopefully we will have a big crowd on hand as these girls step on their court for the final time. Makayla, Jules, Lizzy, Korey, Ashlynn, and Liz have certainly meant a lot to Lady Bobcat Basketball the past four years. They all are among our finest kids at HSCHS and have bright futures. It should be a special night."

Friday's game will be on the road at Buffalo with the game slotted to start at 5:30 p.m. Coach Sova spoke about the challenges of facing conference opponents Worland and Buffalo this week, "Both Worland and Buffalo are definitely in the top echelon of the conference and will be huge tests for us. We have a hard time matching these team's size and athletic ability. So we will have to play hard, smart and together to be successful."