Lady Tigers qualify for State

The Encampment Lady Tigers went to Lander for regional play Thursday and started off hot against the Dubois Lady Rams winning 57-41.

Noelle Peterson dropped in 13 points on 5 of 13 shooting and collected 7 boards while Cassidy Little added 9 points on 4 of 9 shooting. Head coach Amy Clay said, "We played very well against Dubois. The girls were determined and wanted to win the first game at regionals. Our bench gave us some good minutes and made few mistakes."

Coach Clay went on to add that it was a great game to start the tournament and gave the team confidence going forward.

The next test in the regional matchup was southwest division rival Cokeville. The Lady Tigers came out strong against the Lady Panthers and lead 16-8 at the end of the first quarter, but Cokeville cut the lead to 5 at the half.

Cokeville carried the second half and, as Coach Clay describes it, "We came out will less energy in the second half and got outscored 15-7. Coke-ville wore us down with their full court press. We made some bad decisions at times and didn't run our offense efficiently."

Point leaders for Encampment in the close 34-31 loss were Alyssa Barkhurst with 11 points on 4 of 10 shooting and Paige Powell with 7 points on 3 of 5 attempts.

Coach Clay said she was proud of her team's effort in the game and says the team can remedy the factors which led to the loss.

The Lady Tigers rebounded from the Cokeville loss with a solid 48-34 win against Farson-Eden on Friday.

Stat leaders for the game were Cassidy Little with 16 points on 5 of 10 shooting, Alyssa Barkhurst with 9 points on 4 of 7 attempts and 6 rebounds and Hailey Barkhurst who chipped in 5 points and 7 boards.

Coach Clay lauded her team saying, "Once again the bench came in with great energy and did a great job in their roles. We didn't want our season to end and everyone gave it their all."

The Little Snake River Lady Rattlers were the next challenge for the Lady Tigers and of the game, coach Clay said, "We gave LSRV the best game we have all year. They shot the ball extremely well from the outside. Our post defense was amazing, not allowing their post any points."

Despite playing well against the Lady Rattlers, Encampment came up on the short end with a 36-30 final score.

The Lady Tigers played well enough in the Lander Regional Tournament to nab a 4th spot in the state tournament.

The Lady Tigers will face a challenge as they begin the state tournament against number 1 ranked Kaycee.

Of the task ahead Coach Clay said, "We played Kaycee in December. They are athletic and well-coached, so it will be a challenge. We have both changed from then." She then added, "We are excited to be going back to state."

The state tournament begins for the Lady Tigers as they take on the Kaycee Lady Bucs 10:30 a.m., March 3 at in the Casper Events Center in Casper.