Lady Buffs play tough against top-ranked TR

The Lady Buffs went 2-2 at the Foothills Classic tournament in Big Horn and Dayton over the weekend, putting their nonconference record at 3-5.

“I am very proud of our girls. We had a short bench this weekend and everyone got a lot of playing time,” Coach Jeff Hunt said.

The weekend had something of a rocky start. On Friday the Buffs first saw Tongue River, falling to the No. 1 ranked team 46-39. 

“We lost this game by seven, but we had opportunities late in the game to take the lead. They did really well at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and that ended up being the difference in the game,” Coach Hunt lamented.

Perla Rodriguez led the team with 17 points, followed by Sherlyn Diaz-Rios with six, Brooklyn Allen and Shayne Cheatham with five points each and Reagan Vigil, Caitlyn Hunt and Ella Keisel each with two.

Greybull bounced back in their second game, playing Moorcroft for the first time this season and holding them under their thumb the entire game, securing a 45-27 win. Rodriguez put up a staggering 29 points for the Buffs 

“She was too much for them inside,” Coach Hunt said. Diaz-Rios and Marlee Henson each added six points, Allen and Cheatham each with two.

First up Saturday, Greybull took on Big Horn.  “They jumped all over us right away,” Coach Hunt said. “They have a new point guard this year (Afton Cummins) who stands about 5 foot 11 and shot lights out. She had three 3’s in the first quarter and finished the game with seven of them.  She hit a three from NBA range.  We didn’t have an answer for her.”

With Cheatham out with an ankle injury in the first quarter and a short bench due to injury and illness, Big Horn had the Buffs beat 21-7 in the first quarter. 

“Reagan Vigil hit a three at the buzzer to kind of change our momentum going into quarter two,” Coach Hunt said. “We held them to three total points in the second quarter and those came in the last 15 seconds of the half.  Our girls really adjusted well to their offense and took their rhythm away.”

Henson and Caitlyn Hunt hustled on offense for the Buffs, garnering steals and deflections that helped turn the second half around. Rodriguez scored 10 points, Caitlyn Hunt seven, Henson six, Vigil five and Allen and Diaz-Rios two each.

“We hit a few open shots and had a few fast breaks we capitalized on.  We just couldn’t get enough points to break that hump,” Coach Hunt said. The Buffs fell 42-32. 

Coach Hunt noted that by their Wright game, the Buffs were down to 10 total players with two quarters of JV left to play. Despite that, Greybull still walked away with a 42-19 victory thanks to a team effort to move the ball on offense, spreading out their scoring. Rodriguez brought in 10 points, Diaz-Rios nine, Henson eight, Allen seven, Vigil six and Caitlyn Hunt two. Coach Hunt noted that Diaz-Rios had a great game, shooting from all over the court, and teammate Henson came in clutch with several steals.