There’s an adage in sports. Big stays big, and quick gets tired. In a battle of the quick versus the big, the Greybull Lady Buffs were one basket better than the Shoshoni Lady Blue in the Class 2-A Consolation Championship game Saturday morning at the Ford Wyoming Center.
Greybull edged Shoshoni 49-47 on a last-second shot by 5-11 post Perla Rodriguez. Rodriguez led all scorers with 20 points.
The Lady Blue hustled, scrambled, doubled down on the post, and clawed their way for four periods, but a shot by Rodriguez with 15 seconds left, followed by a Shoshoni turnover in mid-court, set up the winning shot.
Shoshoni moved the ball well but had almost no close-range opportunities. The Lady Blue put up 31 3-point attempts, hitting nine.
In a glaring contrast, Greybull head coach Jeff Hunt’s girls took just 14 from beyond the arc but put up 52 shots within 15 feet of the basket.
The game opened with Rodriguez winning the opening tip, rolling into the low block, and scoring just nine seconds into the game.
Shoshoni countered with a Natalie Gilbertson 3-pointer, with another by Brenna Metzler, and the Lady Blue began to roll.
Shoshoni built a 21-13 lead, their largest of the game in the second period, but it didn’t hold.
Greybull closed the gap, and it became a back-and-forth battle in the final minutes of play.
Addi Mason hit a couple of 3-pointers, as did Macy Jarvis and Gilbertson, to hold the Lady Buffs at bay.
Greybull just took it inside repeatedly. Eckley Winfield drained a fourth-period trey to tie the game at 41.
The game was tied four times in the final three minutes. Gilbertson scored on a floater in the lane for a 43-41 Shoshoni lead, but Rodriguez hit a three-foot shot in the paint just seconds later to tie it again.
A pair of Gilbertson free throws lifted Shoshoni to a 46-43 lead with 2:00 remaining, but 16 seconds later, Rodriguez was knocking again with a post-up.
Mason hit a free throw with 25 seconds left for a 47-45 Shoshoni lead, but the dream ended with a pair of Rodriguez post-ups in the final 20 seconds for the Greybull win.
It was the fourth time Greybull beat Shoshoni this season.
Gilbertson led the Lady Blue with 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Mason scored 11. Shoshoni hit nine 3-pointers.
Rodriguez led all scorers with 20, and Marlee Henson scored 10.
SHOSHONI 13 8 8 18 – 47
GREYBULL 11 5 15 18 – 49
Shoshoni – Brenna Metzler (1) 0-0 3, Kaylor McConnaughey (1) 0-0 3, Addie Mason 2 (2) 1-2 11, Mayce Jarvis 1 (1) 2-5 7, Memphis Dolcater 1 0-0 2, Natalie Gilbertson 2 (3) 2-2 15, Eckley Winfield (1) 3-4 6. Totals 6 (9) 8-13 47
Greybull – Caitlyn Hunt 1 1-2 3, Shayne Cheatham 1 (1) 0-2 5, Marlee Henson 5 0-0 10, Brooklyn Allen 2 0-0 4, Sherlyn Diaz-Rios 1 1-2 3, Ella Keisel 2 0-0 4, Perla Rodriguez 8 4-8 20. Totals 20 (1) 6-12 49