It wasn’t the finish the Wyoming Indian girls and head coach Aleta Moss wanted, but they did conclude the 2025-26 season with a trophy at the state tournament. The Lady Chiefs finished third in the Class 2-A State Tournament with a late morning 59-55 win over the Lady Eagles of Tongue River.
It was the ninth third-place finish in school history and the 25th time the girls from Ethete have taken a trophy home from the state tournament.
After the frustration of losing in the semi-finals that every team faces in the third-place game, a lackluster start is often the result on Saturday. Your dreams of a state title are gone, and just one game remains, but that final game will always be memorable to the seniors and to the underclassmen playing their final game with the departing members of the team.
Saturday, it was back-and-forth in the opening period with both teams committing unforced errors and leaving openings for close-range shots.
The period ended with the score knotted at 19.
The difference in the game came in the second period when the Lady Chiefs jumped to a double-digit lead.
Tongue River was a one-girl squad offensively, with Chaney Reish scoring almost two-thirds of their points on 11 short-range jumpers and an impressive 10 of 12 from the free-throw line. Her 32 points led all scorers.
Wyoming Indian countered with their dynamic duo, power forward Taya Dixey and quick point guard Paisley Blackburn.
Dixey took care of business early in the paint and added a 3-pointer for 15 points. Blackburn was a water bug, gliding all over the court with stop-and-go and behind-the-back dribbles to set up the offense. She had 19, including a pair of 3-pointers, but was five of five from the free throw line.
As a team, the Lady Chiefs attempted one more free throw than Tongue River but hit just 11 of 24. The Lady Eagles were 18 of 23.
Wyoming Indian held a 10-point lead, 36-26, on a Taya Dixey follow shot with 3:50 remaining in the third quarter, but it didn’t last. Sundance overcame the deficit and pulled away for a 55-48 semi-final win.
Semi-Finals – Sundance
The loss sends the Lady Chiefs to a 10:30 third-place game at the Ford Event Center against Tongue River Saturday morning.
The game was close throughout the opening half with the Lady Chiefs holding a tight 22-20 lead at intermission.
Dixey clicked in the opening minutes of the third period, hitting a baseline 3-pointer, then another from the right on the next possession, and a third from the elbow a few minutes later. Her three consecutive treys had Wyoming Indian ahead 31-24.
The Lady Bulldogs have a great player in Jaylin Mills, who blistered the Lady Chiefs for 24 points, mostly on drives down the lane or on free throws when she fouled on those drives. She hit 11 of 15 free throw attempts.
On the other end of the floor, Wyoming Indian couldn’t buy a free throw, missing all six attempts from the line.
The Lady Chiefs were battered as well, with point guard Paisley Blackburn exiting the game to the medical tent in the first half and Gerilynn Redman in the second.
The Lady Chiefs built their first double-digit lead on a Blackburn 3-pointer with 5:11 remaining in the third and their largest lead of the game two minutes later when Dixey connected on a jumper in the lane.
That’s when Mills went to work.
Jude Crago hit a 3-pointer from the old Casper Wildcater CNBA line at the buzzer to end the third quarter with Wyoming Indian in command 40-35.
Mills, Crago, and Halyn Lohmeyer chipped away at the Wyoming Indian lead before Blakley Gill tied the game at 48 on a free throw. She missed the second, grabbed her own rebound, and was fouled again. This time, she hit one of two again, and the Lady Bulldogs were in the lead for good.
Mills hit a pair of free throws, and Dixey fouled out with 28 seconds left in the game. Another pair of free throws by Mills gave Sundance a five-point lead with Lohmeyer hitting a layup at the buzzer for the final 55-48 score.
Dixey led the Lady Chiefs with 20.
Mills led all scorers with 24. Lohmeyer added a dozen, and Crago 11.
WYOMING INDIAN 19 17 10 13 – 59
TONGUE RIVER 19 7 15 14 – 55
Wyoming Indian – Taya Dixey 5 (1) 2-3 15, Paisley Blackburn 4 (2) 5-5 19, Jamie Shoyo-Ferris 2 (1) 0-0 7, Aliyiah Hubbard 1 0-2 2, Connie Curry 2 0-0 4, Delaney Gambler 1 0-0 2, Aislynn Gambler 2 4-14 8. Totals 18 (4) 11-24 59
Tongue River – Maia Whitehead 1 1-2 3, Payton McRann 4 2-2 10, Emma Spoko 1 (1) 3-5 8, Chaney Reish 11 10-12 32, Kachina Sanon 2-2 2. Totals 17 (1) 18-23 55
WYOMING INDIAN 14 8 18 8 – 48
SUNDANCE 16 4 15 20 – 55
Wyoming Indian – Jailyn Norse 0-2 0, Taya Dixey 4 (4) 0-0 20, Paisley Blackburn 2 (1) 0-1 7, Jamie Shoyo-Ferris 1 0-0 2, Connie Curry 3 0-0 6, Delaney Gambler 3 (1) 0-0 9, Aislynn Gambler 2 0-3 4. Totals 15 (6) 0-6 48
Sundance – Maddison Neiman 2 0-0 4, Blakely Gill 3-6 3, Karly Marchant 1-2 1, Jaylin Mills 5 (1) 11-15 24, Halyn Lohmeyer 3 (1) 3-4 12, Jude Crago (3) 2-2 11. Totals 10 (5) 20-29 55