A Weekend to Forget for Laramie Basketball

It was a rough weekend trip to Rock Springs and Green River for the Laramie High School basketball teams, as they combined to go 0-4.

The fifth-ranked Laramie Lady Plainsmen were knocked off by Rock Springs 43-41 last Friday night. That was followed by a 48-30 loss at Green River on Saturday.

The results were similar for the Laramie Plainsmen. They were blown out by fifth-ranked Rock Springs, 66-39, on Friday night. They had a shot against Green River, but fell short, 35-32.

Laramie Lady Plainsmen

A pair of free throws by the Lady Tigers Stevie Hill with 0.9 seconds left provided the margin in Rock Springs upset of the Lady Plainsmen Friday night.

Laramie (7-4) blew an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter. Rock Springs went on a 10-0 run that got them back in it.

After a Lexi Pulley driving lay-up, LHS held a 41-39 lead with just under a minute left. Hill tied it on an off-balance 15-foot jumper that banked in. Laramie had a chance to win it, but a travelling violation gave the ball back to Rock Springs with 13 seconds left. Hill drove baseline, pulled up just before the buzzer and a foul was called. She made both free throws for the win.

The Lady Plainsmen were led by Kade Setright with 10 points and seven rebounds. Olivia Dorrell added a career-high tying 9 points. Laramie shot 39 percent in defeat.

A 17-2 run by Green River in the first half propelled the Lady Wolves to an 18-point victory Saturday over the Lady Plainsmen.

Laramie tied their season-low for points. They shot only 25 percent. Setright had six points to lead the team.

LHS pulled within nine on an Eliza Dickinson 3-pointer right before the halftime buzzer. The score was 26-17. That was as close as the Lady Plainsmen got. They were out-scored 11-2 in the third quarter, as Green River pulled away for their first win of the season. It snapped a 25-game losing skid for the Lady Wolves.

Laramie Plainsmen

The weekend was just the opposite for the Plainsmen.

Friday was a struggle in the 27-point loss against the Tigers. Rock Springs scored the first 21 points of the game and never trailed. They led by as many as 31.

Laramie (5-6) did out-score Rock Springs in the second half, but it wasn’t enough. The Plainsmen shot only 37 percent from the field and committed 26 turnovers. The Tigers shot 53 percent from the floor.

Nate Burman led LHS with 14 points.

A late 9-2 run by Green River allowed the Wolves to beat a 4A team for the first time since January 2013.

A driving lay-in by Matt Moran and a basket by Reid Baty gave Laramie a 30-26 lead. After a Baty turnaround made it 32-28, the Wolves pulled within 32-30. That set the stage for freshman Chase Stoeger’s heroics. His 3-pointer from the left wing and two free throws late gave Green River the 3-point victory.

Laramie had a shot to win after getting a turnover on an in-bound by the Wolves in backcourt, but the Plainsmen also committed a turnover with under eight seconds left.

Burman scored a career-high 19 points to lead LHS again. They shot only 27 percent as a team.

Both Laramie teams will begin 4A East Conference play at home Friday and Saturday when they host Sheridan and Gillette at the LHS gym.