It came down to a follow show with zero time remaining in the game Friday morning at Casper College in the tournament opener for Class 2-A. Wyoming Indian forward Taya Dixey stepped in front of a Pine Bluffs player, snagged the missed free throw of freshman Paisley Blackburn, stepped across the paint and hit a left-handed game winning follow shot sending the Lady Chiefs to the semi-finals 32-31.
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The game was close from the opening tip, tied at 11 and with Pine Bluffs taking a three-point lead at the half.
Turnovers were atrocious for both teams. The Lady Chiefs had 24 turnovers, and the Lady Hornets one more at 25.
Pine Bluffs is a big team and they showed in the rebounding statistics, grabbing 11 more than Wyoming Indian, 37 to 26 total.
The Lady Chiefs were never able to run, leading to the low scoring contest. It was the style preferred by the Lady Hornets.
Dixey and Blackburn were both sent to the training room at Thunderbird Gym after hitting the floor hard, but both returned, Dixey with a wrap on her thigh and a noticeable limp.
With free throws at a premium in the contest, the Lady Hornets were perfect from the line with the score tied at 30 and just 5.8 seconds remaining in the game.
Jessica Hoffman stepped up and missed the first free throw but hit the second to give Pine Bluffs a one point lead.
Blackburn was fouled with four seconds remaining, a foul that sent the Lady Chiefs to the free throw line with the Lady Hornets’ fifth team foul.
Lady Chiefs – h/t Claudia Ivonne Chavez
Blackburn missed the first, followed by a Pine Bluffs time out, then came back and missed the second, but Dixey had the position and the Lady Chiefs advanced.
Dixey paced Wyoming Indian with 11 points. Delaney Gambler was money at the line, hitting all six of her free throw attempts.
Avery Gray led Pine Bluffs, also with 11.
On the game, the Lady Chiefs were seven of 12 from the line while the Lady Hornets hit nine of 10.
Wyoming Indian faces either Rocky Mountain or Wright in a 4 pm semi-final at the Ford Wyoming Center on Friday afternoon.
PINE BLUFFS 11 8 6 6 – 31
WYOMING INDIAN 11 5 10 6 – 32
Pine Bluffs – Aly Comer (1) 0-0 3, Reese Graves 2 0-0 4, Avery Gray 2 (1) 4-4 11, Kadee Bruns 1 0-0 2, Jessica Hoffman 3 3-4 9, Avery Sweeter 2-2 2. Totals 8 (2) 9-10 11
Wyoming Indian – Taya Dixey 5 1-2 11, Paisley Blackburn (1) 0-0 3, Jamie Shoyo Ferris 3 (1) 0-2 9, Delaney Gambler 6-6 6, Aislinn Gambler 2 0-0 4. Totals 11 (1) 7-12 32