Lady Huskies take 2nd at Regionals

The Lady Huskies finished the weekend in Lander with a second place trophy.

“Not the outcome that we wanted,” said Coach Cheryl Haslam, “but I was very proud of the way the girls played and going into state seeded second isn’t something to hang our heads about.”

The first game against Encampment was a solid win for the Lady Huskies. “It was a good way to get the first win under our belts,” said Haslam. “Everyone on the bench was able to see the court and get some playing time.” Burlington knew it would be important to shut down their two main scorers. “We held their guard to five points, their post hurt us a little bit more with 15 points. The girls did a really good job of keeping the ball out of her hands, other than the third quarter. We did a really good job on our press. The girls played tough full court man-to-man defense the whole game and came away with some good steals that they were able to convert into points.”

Burlington won 53-33. Paxton Philpott led the team with 13 points and four steals. Dalley Bassett had 12 points, six rebounds and three assists and Sarah McNiven had 11 points, eight rebounds and five steals.

Next up on Friday was Little Snake River for the semifinals. The Lady Huskies effectively put a stop to Little Snake’s outside game. “We knew that we would need to cover their 3’s on defense,” said Haslam. “They didn’t score any 3 pointers on us, so that was good to see. This was probably one of our most consistent games that we have played for quite some time. There didn’t seem to be any minutes where we slowed down. They played hard and aggressive the whole game.”

Burlington’s rebounding game was impressive, outrebounding the Lady Rattlers 62-31. Hailee Winterholler had 15 rebounds and nine points. S. McNiven had 13 rebounds and five points. Naomi McNiven had 12 rebounds and eight points. Bassett had 12 rebounds and five points. Breanne Walker led the team scoring, with 14.

The two wins sent the Lady Huskies to the championship game against Cokeville. For the last seven years, Cokeville has come away with the championship and the last 4 of those have been matchups against Burlington. “The past 3 years, we have played scared and buried ourselves at the beginning of each game,” said Haslam. “This year, the girls played well. It was a good game and I am proud of the girls and their accomplishments over the weekend.”

The game was back and forth with the Lady Huskies leading at halftime and they pushed Cokeville to the end of the game but ultimately fell, 62-55. “Looking at our stats, we outrebounded them, had more assists and more blocks and less turnovers, the main difference in this game was Cokeville’s 3 pointers. They were 10 of 12, it’s pretty crazy to compete against 83% shooting from the 3-point line.”

S. McNiven had a great game for the Lady Huskies with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks. “She had a stellar game,” said Haslam. “Her blocks were at huge times during the game.”  Philpott added 13 points and N. McNiven added 13 points and five steals.

The Lady Huskies head to the state tournament and will face Lingle-Ft. Laramie on Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Ford Wyoming Center.

Encampment   5  4  14  10 – 33

Burlington      11 17  17   8 – 53

BURLINGTON – Walker 2-9 0-0 5, S. McNiven 4-9 3-6 11, Philpott 6-11 1-2 13, Haslam 1-2 0-0 2, Stanworth 1-1 0-0 2, N. McNiven 2-10 0-2 4, Winterholler 2-4 0-0 4, Bassett 5-12 1-4 12. Totals 23-61 5-14 53. 

3-POINT GOALS – Walker 1, Bassett 1. REBOUNDS – Burlington 27 (S. McNiven 8, Bassett 6). STEALS – Burlington 21 (N. McNiven 6, S. McNiven 5, Philpott 4). ASSISTS – Burlington 16 (N. McNiven 4, Walker, Bassett 3). TURNOVERS – Burlington 20. 

Little Snake River  8  4  10   9 – 31

Burlington            12  7  14  15 – 48

BURLINGTON – Walker 6-12 0-0 14, S. McNiven 2-7 1-2 5, Philpott 3-18 1-8 7, N. McNiven 3-8 2-2 8, Winterholler 4-10 1-2 9, Bassett 2-10 1-2 5. Totals 20-66 6-16 48. 

3-POINT GOALS – Walker 2. REBOUNDS – Burlington 62 (Winterholler 15, S. McNiven 13, N. McNiven, Bassett 12). STEALS – Burlington 11 (Philpott 6). ASSISTS – Burlington 12 (Philpott 3). TURNOVERS – Burlington 20.

Cokeville   22  5   24  11 – 62

Burlington 14 16  15  10 – 55

BURLINGTON – Walker 4-5 0-0 10, S. McNiven 5-8 2-4 12, Philpott 6-16 1-1 13, Haslam 1-1 0-0 2, N. McNiven 6-15 0-2 13, Winterholler 0-4 3-4 3, Bassett 1-3 0-2 2. Totals 23-53 6-13 55.

3-POINT GOALS – Walker 2, N. McNiven 1. REBOUNDS – Burlington 25 (S. McNiven 8, Winterholler 7). STEALS – Burlington 10 (N. McNiven 5). ASSISTS – Burlington 14 (Walker, Bassett 4).