Lady Bobcats come up short in final minutes vs. Rawlins

rTHERMOPOLIS - The Hot Springs Lady Bobcats had their resilient spirit, a trait of this team all season, show once again last Friday against the Rawlins Lady Outlaws. Coming off a rough 73-34 loss to Buffalo three days earlier, the Lady Bobcats gave the Lady Outlaws a game but fell just short in a 50-46 loss.

"Girls responded with the first six points of the fourth quarter to close the gap to 37-34. We later made it a one-point game but couldn't quite finish. The girls battled hard and I was pleased with their effort. It was nice going on the road and playing one of the better 3A teams in the state to a tight game," said HSCHS girls basketball coach Cory Sova.

The Lady Bobcats defense played very well holding Rawlins to 28 percent shooting from the field and outrebounding them 42-33, but turnovers, 32 of them, sunk their chances of leaving the Outlaw gym with a win.

"Rawlins didn't shoot a decent field goal percentage which helped us but our girls deserve some credit in flying around making as many shots difficult for them. They actually blocked out for rebounds as well as they have all year (only allowed one offensive rebound total in second and third quarters. In the fourth, turnovers hurt as we sometimes "telegraphed" our passes or they weren't sharp enough. Also, Rawlins is a very athletic and deep team and at times got us playing a little faster than we would have liked," said Sova.

Senior guard Haley McDermott led the Lady 'Cats in scoring with 19 points, her statistic line also included eight rebounds and four assists. Sophomore forward McKenna Bomengen recorded another double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

"Haley was outstanding making 11 of 13 free throws and 19 points. McKenna made some tough shots around the hoop leading to 11 points. She did a great job rebounding on both ends of the court with three offensive and 10 defensive. It was good to see her have another double-double performance. It really lifts the team and makes us competitive," said Sova on the performances by McDermott and Bomengen.

Sova also had praises for Sesi Jensen, eight points, six rebounds and three steals; Ashely McPhie, eight points, five rebounds; Tahja Hunt three rebounds and three steals; and Kaylee DeVries, five rebounds.

"Sesi had a little foul trouble but was able to fight through it, she did foul out with 2:19 left which hurt, but her overall performance was solid. Ashley got us started with a couple of early threes ending with eight points. Tahja worked hard in our zone and covered a lot of ground on a number of possessions. Kaylee did a nice job battling Rawlins' big girls and helped out with five rebounds," said Sova.

FINAL HOME GAMES

The Lady 'Cats close out the regular season with back-to-back home games, Friday they host the No. 1-ranked and undefeated Douglas Lady Bearcats at 5:30 p.m.

Douglas is by all accounts one of the most dominant teams, boys or girls, 1A-4A, in Wyoming this season. They have held their past four opponents under the 30-point mark and their closest margin of victory this season was 16 points against Powell on Dec. 9, 2017.

"They have a very nice mix of size, quickness, and skills. They are undefeated and in my opinion the best team in the state for any classification. They have been outscoring teams by 40 to 50-plus points each game. They have not been tested this year. It is possible we will play this team again in the opening round at regionals next week so we will be able to learn a lot about them during this game," said Sova.

Saturday, the Lady 'Cats host the Newcastle Lady Dogies at 12:30 p.m. in their final home game of the season.

"Newcastle will present a huge test for us. They have three girls who average double figures for points and they are playing quite well right now. We will have to play well to end our final home game with a victory," said Sova.

Saturday's game will also be the final home game for McDermott, the team's lone senior. As a leader on and off the court, she has been an important key to the Lady 'Cat program for the past four seasons, and especially in the last two as the program entered the 3A level.

"This will be an emotional early afternoon game as we honor our only senior, Haley. I know the girls have been looking forward to this. Haley has been an integral part of our basketball program for the past four years. She also has been a leader in the classroom and is a fun and pleasant young lady who has a bright future. We will certainly miss her ... We would like to have her for one more year but that probably won't happen since she has a 4.0 GPA," said Sova.