Lady Buffs flex their offensive firepower

 Girls average 50+ points in first 3 games

The Lady Buffs showed a lot of determination and an ability to fight back when the going got tough during competition last weekend at the Coal Miner’s Classic and the Herder Classic.

“We had a decent weekend,” was how Coach Jeff Hunt described the 1-3 opening which saw games played in Wright, Gillette and Glenrock. “We had a lot of slow starts and had to battle back in our first two games (Wright and Sundance). We were down 26 points in the third quarter against Wright and cut their lead to eight. We did the same thing with Sundance.  We were down about 20 and cut it to six.”  

Although both games went in the loss column, the Buffs made their presence known in the second half.  

Kaycee was a different story, and it belonged to the Buffs. 

“We learned we can play with most anybody, but we have to have a good start,” said Hunt.  

They did just that with Kaycee. “ We controlled them right from the tip-off.”  

When the final buzzer sounded, it was Buffs 59, Kaycee 31.

The Buffs faced host Glenrock in Saturday’s closer. 

“We matched up  with Glenrock really well,” said Hunt.  “Definitely a similar team to us. It was our last game, so we were a little tired and worked to control the tempo on both ends of the court.”  

Hunt said Glenrock hit a couple of late 3-pointers to pull it out.

In an overview of the weekend, Hunt pointed out that the Lady Buffs scored more than 150 points in their first three games. “That’s pretty good in 2A girls,” he said. “Unfortunately, we gave up more than we scored.”

Hunt praised his athletes who are relatively young and inexperienced. They also learned what they still need to work on and defense is one example.

On offense, Perla Rodriguez led the scoring averaging just under 14 points per game and pulled down just under 10 boards per game.  The rest of the scoring was pretty well spread out.

Hunt said every player who saw action on the court, scored.  It was a total team effort and bodes well for the remainder of the season. 

Greybull will be heading to the hills this weekend, literally, as they compete in the annual Foothills Classic tournament in Wind River and Wyoming Indian High School.   The Buffs open Friday against Moorcroft and Tongue River — last year’s state champs — and in the last game Saturday, get another shot at Wright.

Hunt is hoping to see his team play tough both offensively and defensively and get off to faster starts. Seeing balanced scoring, as they had at Glenrock, would also be an advantage for the Buffs.

Greybull   7   8 12 20 — 47

Wright 16 18 15 10 — 59

GREYBULL — Mataia Henderson 1 0-0 2, Camila Acuna 4 0-2 8, Perla Rodriguez 6 3-3 15, Shayne Cheatham 2 0-0 5, Sherlyn Diaz-Rios 1 0-0 2, Marlee Henson 4 0-0 9, Wyatt Whaley 1 0-0 2, Mya Oatman 1 2-2 4.  Totals 20-of-53 (FGS) 5-of-11 (FTs) 47.

3-POINT GOALS — Cheatham, Henson.  REBOUNDS — Greybull 39 (Acuna 9).  STEALS — Greybull 12 (Henderson, Acuna, Henson 3).  ASSISTS — Greybull 12 (Rodriguez 3).  TURNOVERS — Greybull 32.

Greybull   8   7 22 15 — 52

Sundance 19 10 19 12 — 60

GREYBULL — Rodriguez 3 5-7 11, Diaz-Rios 2 0-0 4, Acuna 2 3-5 7, Henderson 3 1-1 8, J Rodriguez 0 0-0 0, Henson 2 4-5 8, Cheatham 4 1-2 12, Whaley 1 0-0 2.  Totals 18-of-47 14-of-23 52.

3-POINT GOALS — Henderson, Cheatham.  REBOUNDS — Greybull 39 (Rodriguez 12).  STEALS — Greybull 16 (Cheatham 4).  ASSISTS — Greybull 14 ( J. Rodriguez 5).  TURNOVERS — Greybull 41.

Greybull 12 17 10 17 — 56

Kaycee   5 10   6 10 — 31

GREYBULL — Rodriguez 6 2-4 14, Diaz-Rios 2 0-1 4, Henderson 5 0-2 12, Cheatham 2 0-0 5, Acuna 1 1-2 3, Henson 2 2-7 8, J. Rodriguez 0 1-2 1, Oatman 2 4-4 8, Whaley 0 1-2 1.  Total 20-of-53 11-of-26 56.

3-POINT GOALS — Henderson 2, Henson 2, Cheatham.  REBOUNDS — Greybull 39 (Whaley 8).  STEALS — Greybull 18 (Henson 6).  ASSISTS — Greybull 14 (Acuna 4).  TURNOVER — Greybull 22.

Greybull 10   5   5 12 — 32

Glenrock   8 10   9 11 — 38

GREYBULL — Henderson 2 0-0 4, Cheatham 1 0-0 2, Acuna 2 1-1 5, Rodriguez 6 3-7 15, J. Rodriguez 1 0-0 2, Whaley 1 0-0 2, Diaz-Rios 0 2-4 2, Henson 0 0-0 0.  Totals 13-of-42 6-of-12 32.

REBOUNDS — Greybull 28 (Acuna 7).  STEALS — Greybull 6 (Henderson, Cheatham 2).   ASSISTS — Greybull 9 (Henderson 5). TURNOVERS — Greybull 17.