Laramie Splits Again to Finish Casper Tournament
Day three produced similar outcomes for Laramie High School basketball last Saturday at the Fremont Motors Casper Invitational basketball tournament.
Laramie split their final games at Kelly Walsh. The Plainsmen won at the defending champs, 68-59, while a comeback by the Lady Plainsmen fell short in a 60-52 loss to the Trojans.
Laramie Plainsmen
Behind 19 points and 15 rebounds from junior Hudda Herrera, the Plainsmen held off Kelly Walsh by nine.
Laramie (3-1) also got 17 points apiece from senior Asa Williams and junior Will Tyser, off the bench. The Plainsmen shot 41 percent from the field and knocked down eight 3-pointers. Five of those were by Tyser.
After some early back-and-forth, Laramie held a 17-11 lead after the first. They steadily built their lead to 33-22 by halftime. Williams scored eight of the Plainsmen’s 13 points in the third period, as the lead reached 17 points. It was 46-32 after three. Kelly Walsh made a push in the fourth behind three’s from Ross Padilla and Davion McAdam, but LHS held on for the victory.
Kelly Walsh (2-2) was held to 32 percent from the field. They were led by Padilla with 19 points.
Brown said to start a season with a 3-1 mark was important.
“Especially when you’re in the process of building a program. To get some good success early, it helps them believe we’re going in the right direction. Moving forward, we’re going to have more buy-in. We’re going to be hungrier for even more success. They’ve gotten a little taste of it, and I think they’re starting to realize it’s fun winning, so they want to jump on that bandwagon.”
Laramie Lady Plainsmen
Laramie (1-3) tried to rally from a 17-point halftime deficit, but Kelly Walsh held on for an eight-point win, 60-52.
The Trojans jumped out 13-0 at the start and never trailed. The lead reached 17 by halftime before the Lady Plainsmen rally started. Laramie pulled within 40-37 after three, when they held KW to just six points in that quarter. The margin got down to two, at 50-48, but the Trojans made plays and hit free throws, as they out-scored LHS 10-4 down the stretch.
Jennifer Aadland led the way with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Lexi Pulley added 16 points. Laramie shot 27 percent for the game, which included 41 in the second half after 13 in the first half.
Kelly Walsh (4-0) shot 39 percent from the field. Madison Vinich led the way with 22 points and 8 rebounds.
Head coach Laura Pollard was pleased with improvement she saw as the weekend went along, despite a 1-3 record.
“I came in here expecting maybe a 2-2, and of course, Kelly Walsh and Natrona were those ones I didn’t think of. Even though Kelly Walsh was one of them (losses), we picked up one against Natrona (Friday). We came out rusty against teams we should’ve done a lot better with. The rebounding went up and up and up each game. I’m not sure about the turnovers, but the improvement’s there. The comeback improvement with those younger players (three freshman and a sophomore) is key.”
Looking Ahead
Both Laramie teams will get a chance to work on various items, as they don’t return to action until Dec. 28 at the Cabela’s Holiday Shootout. That tournament is a bracket set-up, where LHS will play three games over three days, Dec. 28-30, 2017. Laramie opens against Gering, NE at 2 and 3:45 p.m., respectively.