Cheyenne East Sweeps Laramie

Both Laramie High School basketball teams lost their conference games at Cheyenne East Friday night by double figures.

The Laramie Lady Plainsmen fell to No. 4 East, 60-30. The Laramie Plainsmen suffered an 82-62 defeat against the No. 2 Thunderbirds.

Laramie Lady Plainsmen

Cheyenne East (13-5, 4-2) pulled away in the second half for the victory, as Laramie struggled shooting the ball.

LHS head coach Laura Pollard told her team to just forget this one.

“It wasn’t like East was doing anything to upset us. We just couldn’t put the ball in the hole. I knew defensively when weren’t moving like we normally move; we weren’t talking; it just was a very lethargic game.”

The Thunderbirds jumped out to an 11-0 lead. The Lady Plainsmen responded with a 12-1 run that tied the game at 12-12 early in the second quarter. After an East timeout, they finished the first half on an 11-1 run and led 23-13 at halftime. The Thunderbirds out-scored LHS 37-17 in the second half and put away a 30-point win.

Pollard added, “They had the timeout, and we come in and make that run, there just wasn’t any energy; not the way it’s been.”

Laramie (7-11, 2-4) shot only 24 percent from the field. They were led by junior Jennifer Aadland with nine points and seven rebounds.

East was led by Kalee McEwan with 12 points. Madison Blaney added 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Thunderbirds enjoyed a 45-24 edge in rebounding. They shot 36 percent for the game.

At the halfway point of league games, Pollard says the goal remains to get into a regional tournament game.

“Right now we know we have to beat South on Thursday, and that will clinch that. As I was talking with Rusty (Horsley – East head coach), Gillette’s way up on top, and then the rest of us are fighting it out.”

The Lady Plainsmen open the second half of conference play at Cheyenne South Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Laramie Plainsmen

A good battle for three quarters saw Cheyenne East pull away with a big fourth quarter to beat LHS by 20 Friday night.

Cheyenne East (11-7, 3-3) scored 23 points in the fourth, while Laramie struggled from the field. The Plainsmen shot only 32 percent in the second half.

Despite the loss, LHS head coach Travis Brown said there were a lot of positives to take away.

“It was a season-low for us in turnovers, I think I see 10. We’re taking care of the ball better. That’s a good shooting team. We didn’t do a great job of getting out there and contesting a lot of times, but it’s not like they were hitting right at the three-point line either… the score got away from us, but it doesn’t reflect how really well we played all night.”

The Thunderbirds led by as much as 10 points late in the first half, but Laramie scored the final four and cut it to 41-35 at half. The Plainsmen got within 53-50, but East knocked down two key three-pointers in the last minute of the quarter and led 59-50. That was part of a 17-4 run by the Thunderbirds, who opened up a 70-54 lead and went on to the 20-point victory.

Brown added, “We were in zone there and had it within three, but then they made some adjustments and pulled their big out actually and went pretty much five-out. What’s the middle guy doing in the zone if the big guy can hit from the corner out there, and I think that’s what made us have to go back to man (defense).”

Brown admitted that was a nice change by them.

Laramie (7-11, 1-5) shot 39 percent for the game. Nate Burman led three Plainsmen in double figures with 21 points.

East shot 57 percent for the game. They were 10-24, 42 percent, from beyond the arc. The Thunderbirds were led by Erik Oliver with 18 points.

Brown also said we know we’ve got to win games if we want to make the regional tournament.

“I was looking back, and we’ve had many games we’ve lost by one possession. There are some match-ups that are tough for us… I think we’re going in the right direction.”

Laramie returns to action Thursday at Cheyenne South. That game is set for 7 p.m.