(Shoshoni, WY) – The Lady Blue sandwiched a pair of wins over a three-day stretch at their home tournament, the Wrangler Classic, beginning last Thursday.
Shoshoni edged Saratoga 55-52 to start the tournament on Thursday, then had a dry spell in the third period on Friday night against Upton in a 61-50 loss, before finishing play on Saturday with a 55-46 win over Riverside.
All three opponents play down a classification in Class 1-A.
Upton’s 6-0 senior center, Bella Keller, did the bulk of the damage for the Bobcats. She tallied 26 points, all in the paint.
Shoshoni is a small team this season. When they can press and run, they’re effective, and they were in the opening half as they raced to a 16-11 lead at the end of the opening period behind layups from Brenna Metzler and Mayce Jarvis, along with 3-pointers from Kaylor McConnaughey and Natalie Gilbertson.
Shoshoni trailed 29-28 at the half.
In the second half, the Lady Bobcats slowed down the ball and began to take it inside on every possession. They scored 26 points in the paint, using their height advantage decisively. In the final period, all five Upton shots came within three feet of the basket.
In contrast, the Lady Bobcats tightened their defense. Shoshoni hit just three close-range shots in the final 16 minutes of the game.
The Lady Blue was able to stay in reach via the long ball. Jarvis hit a trey, Gilbertson hit a pair of 3-pointers, and Eckley Winfield added another one.
Despite the Upton power game inside, Shoshoni had the opportunity to win the game at the line but hit only seven of 22 free throw attempts.
Gilbertson led Shoshoni with 17, the freshman, Jarvis had 13 including a pair 3-point shots.
SHOSHONI 16 12 13 9 – 50
UPTON 11 18 22 10 – 61
Shoshoni – Brenna Metzler 1 1-3 3, Kaylor McConnaughey 1 (1) 0-4 5, Addie Mason 2 4-6 8, Mayce Jarvis 3 (1) 1-5 13, Memphis Dolcater 1-2 1, Natalie Gilbertson 2 (4) 1-3 17, Eckley Winfield (1) 0-0 3. Totals 9 (8) 7-22 50
Upton – Mills 3 0-0 6, Donner 2 0-0 4, Gustaf 4 0- 8, Garcia 2-3 2, Jackson 6 3-7 15, Keller 12 2-3 26. Totals 27 7-13 61