Lady Grizz Go Into Districts On A Two Game Skid

After edging out West Side on the road last Wednesday the Lady Grizzlies capped off their regular season play taking on two of the better small school teams in the area.  The Lady Grizzlies played their finals home game of the year against a very good Lady Hornet team from Oakley on Thursday night.  The Lady Hornets entered the game as the number two team in the state with the Lady Grizzlies sitting at the number five spot.  That made this one of if not the biggest match up of the week in girls 2A basketball.  The Lady Grizzlies started the game looking like their old selves knocking down some outside shots while getting buckets from three of their bigs.  By the end of the first quarter Grace held a small lead over Oakley and the game appeared as though it would be the battle that many expected.  However in the second quarter the momentum shifted to the Lady Hornets.  The Lady Grizzlies were still able to hit some outside shots but were shut out underneath.  The Lady Grizzlies were getting beat on the boards and beat up physically under the hoop.  By the halftime break the Lady Hornets had taken the lead and would not look back.  The third quarter was disastrous for Grace.  The Lady Grizzlies were only able to add five more points while the Hornets increased their lead to fifteen points.  Grace was able to have a better fourth quarter but was still outpaced by the disciplined Hornets.  The Lady Grizzlies suffered a big loss in a game that could have been a momentum builder for them.  The Lady Grizzlies struggled in this game under the extreme pressure put on by Oakley.  Some of Grace’s most reliable scorers were limited in the game with one even being held scoreless.

Following the tough home loss the Lady Grizzlies hit the road to take on an always tough Cokeville Wyoming team.  Grace got off to a hot start in this game jumping all over the Lady Panthers.  All five of the Lady Grizzlies starters contributed to the score total as they jumped out to a double digit lead.  In the second quarter the Lady Grizzlies still managed to hit some big shots but it was the Lady Panthers turn to go on a run and by the halftime break the Grace lead had been cut to just four points.  The third quarter was not stellar for either team as the scoring slowed.  The two teams broke even in the third and Grace maintained their four point lead.  In the fourth quarter the Lady Grizzlies added eight more points but were outscored by the Lady Panthers.  Grace gave up the lead and lost the game in the closing quarter.  After hitting an impressive six out of seven foul shots over the first three quarters of play the Lady Grizzlies only managed to go one for four in the fourth missing three shots which was ultimately the amount they lost by.  

The Lady Grizzlies now begin district play.  With the way that the district tournament is scheduled some of the district games will have already been played before many of our readers see this article.  On Monday night the Lady Grizzlies opened up the tournament by facing the Lady Pumas from Alturas Prep.  At the risk of sounding overconfident the Lady Grizzlies should have easily won that game setting up a crucial round two match up with Butte County.  The teams split the regular season each winning  on their home floor by slim margins.  That round two game takes place Wednesday night on a neutral floor in Aberdeen.  Check out next week’s article to see how the district tournament is going for the Lady Grizzlies.

Lady Grizzlies 13 8 5 15 41

Lady Hornets 9 16 15 17 57

K. Mansfield 14, A. Rasmussen 2, P. Steadman 4, C. Yost 13, T. Jorgensen 6, P. Hatch 2

Lady Grizzlies 18 12 7 8 45

Lady Panthers 7 19 7 15 48

K. Stoddard 12, K. Mansfield 8, P. Steadman 10, C. Yost 9, T. Jorgensen 6