Lady Huskies wrap up strong regular season

The Lady Huskies finished the regular season on the road with a loss in Greybull and a win in Basin. 

First up was Greybull. “I was excited to play this one,” said Coach Cheryl Haslam. “We knew it would be some good competition for us. Well, if anything could go wrong or awry, it did this game. Greybull’s 1-2-2 zone defense really got to us and we struggled to score. They knew that we have been driving into the basket this season and getting points on the inside. They had planned for this and shut down our inside game. We haven’t had a game yet where we’ve had to rely on our outside shots and it really got to the girls.” 

The first quarter was a struggle for both teams and ended with the Buffs up 7-6. The game remained close throughout, but the Lady Huskies couldn’t catch up to the Buffs, losing 40-36 “There were points in the game where it would seem like we were going to fight back and then we’d fall back again. It was a mental struggle for several of the girls when their shots were not falling. As much as it stinks to get a loss, this came at a good time for us. It is a game that we can learn from and use to prepare for Regionals,” said Haslam.

Naomi McNiven led the team with 10 points and Selena Call was the top rebounder, grabbing nine boards. 

Saturday, the Lady Huskies started strong against Riverside and held the Rebels to just five points in the first quarter. The Rebels also ran a 1-2-2 zone defense on the Lady Huskies, but they managed it better. “The girls were able to do better with passing the ball around and getting the inside shots, but it’s definitely  something we need to work on this week,” said Haslam. “Our outside game was a bit better as well. Our plan going into the game was to shut down their best girl and we did a pretty good job at this, as we held her to three points. Naomi, Selena and Dalley Bassett took turns guarding her and did a great job with preventing her from getting the ball.” 

Haslam was also happy with their full court press. “They were able to press three of the four quarters and didn’t get gassed. That’s really nice to see!” 

Jessie Michaels, who has been struggling with an injury, had a big game with 17 points, 10 rebounds, seven steals and seven assists. Paxton Philpott was next with 10 points, five rebounds and four steals. 

The Lady Huskies are headed to regionals as the No. 1 seed from the Northwest and will face Saratoga at 4 p.m. in Lander on Thursday. 

Greybull    7  13 10 10 — 40

Burlington 6  12 12  6 — 36 

BURLINGTON — Walker 2-16 1-2 5, Call 0-3 2-4 2, Philpott 3-3 2-3 8, Michaels 1-17 0-0 2, N. McNiven 5-13 0-0 10, Bassett 4-15 0-1 8, S. McNiven 0-2 1-2 1, Totals 15-69 6-12 36. 

REBOUNDS — Burlington 34 (Call 9, Bassett 8). STEALS — Burlington 17 (Walker, Philpott 4). ASSISTS — Burlington 2. TURNOVERS — Burlington 27. 

Riverside     5  10   8   7 — 30 

Burlington  15   7  19 10 — 51

BURLINGTON — Walker 0-7 2-2 2, Call 0-3 2-4 2, Philpott 4-17 2-4 10, Michaels 7-24 2-4 17, N. McNiven 2-11 2-3 6, Bassett 4-10 0-0 9, S. McNiven 2-6 1-2 5. Totals 19-84 11-22 51. 

3-POINT GOALS — Michaels 1, Basset 1. REBOUNDS — Burlington 53 (Michaels 10, N. McNiven 8, Call, S. McNiven 7). STEALS — Burlington 21 (Michaels 7, Walker 5). ASSISTS — Burlington 15 (Michaels 7). TURNOVERS — Burlington 24.