Lady Tigers take third

The No. 2 West ranked Encampment Lady Tigers took on the No. 3 East ranked Rock River Longhorns at 9 a.m. on Thursday at the Casper Events Center for their first game of the 1A State Girls Basketball Tournament. The Lady Tigers would win against the Longhorns and the St. Stephens Lady Eagles, but lose to the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Lady Rattlers to place third.

"I feel that our girls had a great season and you are always disappointed when you don't win it all, but so are 20 other teams," said Clint Bromley, head coach of the Encampment Lady TIgers.

Encampment would find itself hampered by Noelle Peterson and Cheyanne Jordan struggling with being sick and Hailey Barkhurst out with an injury.

"If we had all of them healthy I think we would have been in a better position to challenge for another State Championship," Bromley said.

Lady Tigers vs.

Lady Longhorns

The Lady Tigers had been able to handily defeat Rock River during the regular season and State proved no different.

"We came out a little slow in this 9 a.m. game, but were able to get going in the second half and get the win," said Bromley.

Peterson would lead Encampment against Rock River with 18 points, followed by Paige Powell with 17 points and Micaiah Pantle with 9 points.

"Cheyanne Jordan didn't score much," said Bromley, "but her 10 rebounds were huge in this game."

Encampment would end the game against the Lady Longhorns with a 7-point lead and send the Lady Tigers onto the next round to face LSRV.

The final score was 45-38.

Lady Tigers vs.

Lady Rattlers

"We were not able to match the energy level of the Rattlers for the majority of this game," said Bromley, "We only shot 18 percent in the first half when we normally are shooting around 40 percent and that proved to be the difference."

Peterson again lead the Lady Tigers with 12 points, followed by Pantle with 11 points and Powell with 9.

"We just didn't challenge the rim like we normally do and didn't get enough chances at the line," Bromley said.

Bromley added that he was proud of the girls in the final minutes.

"Micaiah (Pantle) got a chance at the buzzer to tie or win the game and it was close -but unfortunately it rimmed out," said Bromley.

The final score was 42-44.

Lady Tigers vs.

Lady Eagles

Following their loss to the Lady Rattlers, Encampment took on St. Stephens at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday at the Natrona County High School to determine who would place third.

The Lady Tigers had played the Lady Eagles the week before at the Regional Tournament and had ended the game with a 24-point lead to place second.

During the State Tournament, Encampment would lead St. Stephens by 12 points at the end of the game.

"Paige (Powell) finally came out and lead the team and that was what we needed all tournament long if were were going to be successful," said Bromley.

Powell led Encampment against the Lady Eagles with 15 points, followed by Peterson with 13 points, Jordan with 11 points and Lauren Buford with 9 points.

"Noelle (Peterson) and Cheyanne (Jordan) were able to fight through being sick and come out and score half of our points which was a show of their toughness and desire to help us win," Bromley said.

The final score was 51-39.

"I thought the sick girls gave us all that they had and I am proud of them for persevering and being able to come home with a trophy," said Bromley, "I think State Tournaments are decided by one or two plays and LSRV was the team that made those plays and it got them a championship, so my hat is off to them."