Guard Play Leads Lady Plainsmen to First Conference Win
Kade Setright scored 17 points to lead the Laramie Lady Plainsmen to their first conference win Saturday over Sheridan. The final score was 61-43.
Laramie (10-3, 1-1) pulled away in the fourth quarter. Lexi Pulley and Olivia Dorrell added 14 and 11 points, respectively. Morgan Bury chipped in nine.
LHS girl’s head coach Laura Pollard said, “I think overall we played four quarters; a little slow there in the third. I was really happy again with our bench today.”
It was a tight early on. The game featured four lead changes and six ties in the first quarter. It was 10-10 after the opening eight minutes. The Lady Plainsmen made the first basket of the second and never trailed after that. They out-scored the Broncs 18-8 in the period and held a 28-18 edge at halftime.
Sheridan cut the deficit to six on two occasions in the third, but LHS held a 39-30 lead going into the final frame.
Setright, Pulley and Dorrell combined for 16 of Laramie’s 22 fourth quarter points, as the Lady Plainsmen kept extending their lead and won by their biggest margin of the day.
Laramie shot only 35 percent in the game, but cashed in at the free throw line. They went 18-25 for 72 percent. LHS also force 30 Bronc turnovers.
Sheridan (5-8, 1-1) was led by Alli Puuri with 12 points. They shot 40 percent from the field.
Laramie Plainsmen
A rough second quarter led to Laramie’s second loss in the 4A East Conference and fifth straight overall.
Sheridan (6-7, 2-0) took advantage of a short-handed Plainsmen team for a 74-43 victory. Laramie played without its leading scorer, Nate Burman, and senior Isaiah Martinez, who were both out due to injury.
The Plainsmen hung tough in the opening frame. The Broncs held an 11-8 lead. The second period was all Sheridan, as they out-scored LHS 33-to-6 and put the game out of reach by halftime with a commanding 44-14 lead. It was nearly even in the second half, but the end result was a 31-point loss. Laramie did have four players foul out, and with a few limited due to the playing quarters' rule, they finished with four players on the court.
Plainsmen head coach Travis Brown said, “The second quarter was the difference in the game. We were down three in the first quarter and played them pretty tight. Then, we didn’t handle the pressure very well with the second unit in there a little bit, and the second quarter just got away from us.”
Laramie (3-10, 0-2) shot only 30 percent for the game. They were led by Chad Browning with nine points.
The Broncs shot 45 percent from the floor and finished with three players in double figures. They were led by Blayne Baker with 14 points.
Next Game
Laramie will continue its home-stand by hosting Cheyenne South in a doubleheader Friday night at Laramie High School. The girl’s game is at 5:30 p.m. followed by the boy’s at 7 p.m.