Lady Buffs lose first game after break, face Chiefs next

A barrage of Wind River 3-pointers was too much for the Greybull Lady Buffs to overcome in a 49-41 loss Saturday afternoon at Buff Gym.

The Cougars connected from long range six times in the third quarter, extending their lead from four (which it was at the half, at 16-12) to nine points heading into the final frame before eventually prevailing by eight.

Coach Jeff Hunt described it as “a tough game from start to finish” for his young squad.

Wind River connected on 9-of-18 from 3-point land while Greybull hit 2-of-9 from deep.

“That was the biggest difference,” Hunt said of the Cougars’ sharp shooting. “We had had no answer and just struggled to get a hand up on them.  Even when we did, they went in.  

“The girls did a great job defensively keeping them out of the key.  We rebounded pretty well at times, but still gave up too many second-chance points.”

On the offensive end, the Lady Buffs hit 37 percent of their field-goal tries, but were hurt by 38 turnovers.

Perla Rodriguez led in points, with 12, and rebounds, with 10.

Mataia Henderson and Marlee Henson were right behind with nine and eight points, respectively.

Of the turnovers, Hunt said, “We need to do a better job taking care of the ball in our half-court offense,” adding, “That will be a big focus this week since we play Wyoming Indian and we know they’ll press us the whole game.”

This week

The Buffs and the Chiefs play at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Ethete. After that, it’s onto the Big Horn Basin Hoops Classic.  

“We have seen a lot of growth since the beginning of the season,” said Hunt. “We still need to find a way to play a full game.  We tend to give up a lot of points in at least one quarter per game.” Against Wind River, that quarter was the third, when the Cougars tallied 23.

Wind River 3 13 23 10 — 49

Greybull 6   6 18 11 — 41

GREYBULL — Jasmine Rodriguez 0-2 0-0 0, Mataia Henderson 3-8 2-2 9, Shayne Cheatham 1-8 0-2 2, Marlee Henson 4-10 0-2 8, Sherlyn Diaz-Rios, 3-3 0-0 6, Perla Rodriguez 5-9 2-4 12, Wyatt Whaley 0-2 0-0 0, Camila Acuna 1-4 0-0 2, Mya Oatman 1-2 0-0 2.  Totals 18-of-48 (FGs) 4-10 (FTs) 41.

3-POINT GOALS — Henderson.  REBOUNDS — Greybull 33 (Rodriguez 10).  STEALS — Greybull 19 (Henderson 5).  ASSISTS — Greybull 19 (Henderson 5).  TURNOVERS — Greybull 38.