Laramie Sweeps Bison in Cheyenne
Both Laramie basketball teams picked up valuable road wins over Cheyenne South Thursday night in the Capital City.
The Laramie Plainsmen got their second road break-through with a 68-64 victory over the Bison, while the Lady Plainsmen won their third league game by pulling away from South, 59-39.
Laramie Plainsmen
Nate Burman and Asa Williams hit one free throw apiece in the last 10 seconds, as Laramie won its second road game in 4A East Conference action.
Head coach Travis Brown said the adversity we’ve had is going to pay off.
“They pulled together, and they’ve been through a lot the last two years. I was really proud to see them really stick it out at the end. We could’ve folded. We had a couple of opportunities there to put it away with free throws, and instead of getting on each other, we said, hey, next play, let’s go.”
After six lead changes and three ties early in the game, Laramie built and maintained a five-point lead through the third quarter. It was 49-44 at the start of the fourth. The Plainsmen scored the first five points and led 54-44, which was their biggest of the game.
South rallied and pulled within two points at 66-64 thanks to a Tanner Weinberger three-pointer. Despite missing the front end of a pair of 1-and-1 free throw opportunities, both in a double bonus and first of a two-shot chance, Burman and Williams finally hit one free throw each that sealed the victory.
Burman scored 20 points and led four Plainsmen in double figures. Williams had 16, Chad Browning 14 and Will Tyser added 11. Laramie shot 51 percent from the field and went 8-20 from deep. They pulled it out despite a 10-20 effort at the free throw line.
South (8-10, 3-4) was led by Marc Beasley with 20 points.
Laramie (8-11, 2-5) will host Thunder Basin Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
Laramie Lady Plainsmen
Laramie rode the hot shooting of Jennifer Aadland in their 20-point victory. She knocked down seven 3-pointers and tied her career-high with 25 points.
Lady Plainsmen head coach Laura Pollard knew Aadland’s focus was there.
“She’s just so impressive… she’s starting to get some college looks, which is really nice. I’ve had a couple of calls about her. I definitely think she’s definitely college material.”
Aadland is just in her junior season at LHS.
Laramie (8-11, 3-4) trailed by four points early. They took the lead for good on a 13-0 run in the first. With Aadland and Lexi Pulley in foul trouble, the Lady Plainsmen struggled, but got key three’s from Delaney Qualls, Kylee Cox and Shyann Bastian and maintained a 26-20 lead at half.
LHS dominated the third quarter and out-scored the Bison 15-4. They extended their lead all the way to the final margin.
The Lady Plainsmen shot only 37 percent from the field, but made 13-20, 48 percent, from beyond the arc.
Pollard said, “It was a real lethargic game, but it was just the sharp-shooting on the three-point line was unreal.”
South (4-15, 0-7) was held to 30 percent shooting. They finished with 21 points. Deja King and Reagon Moore had 11 points apiece for the Bison.
Laramie will host No. 3 Thunder Basin Saturday at 1 p.m.
Up Next
Both Laramie teams will finish by playing four of their final five games at home. It begins Saturday with home games against the Bolts. The boys’ varsity game is first, followed by the girls’ varsity contest.
KOWB will broadcast both live on the radio (AM 1290), on our live stream or through the new KOWB app. Coverage will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday. David Settle and VerDon Hoopes will call the games.