Lady Tigers lose two, not hope

It’s never easy to lose a game, but with each loss one can find ways to improve moving forward. Such has been the case for the Encampment Lady Tigers as they have worked through the season with only seven members and have, so far, only one conference win to their name. This weekend, Encampment hit the road and were hosted by the Cokeville Lady Panthers (17-2, 6-0) on Friday and the Farson-Eden Lady Pronghorns (17-5, 5-2) on Saturday.

While the Lady Tigers ultimately lost both games, Head Coach Clint Bromley continues to see areas where the mostly sophomore team is improving as they get closer and closer to the possibility of playing in the regional tournament.

Encampment vs.

Cokeville

There wasn’t much time for the Lady Tigers to lick their wounds from their previous encounter with the Cokeville Lady Panthers. Encampment hosted the Lady Panthers just last week in a rescheduled game during Encampment’s homecoming week and the Lady Tigers fell 31-48.

This time, as they were hosted by Cokeville, Encampment fell by a much larger deficit.

“This was a learning experience for us and our sophomores got to experience what it is like to play in Cokeville,” said Bromley. “Cokeville is a great team and if you don’t bring your ‘A’ game the result is not going to be favorable.”

While the Lady Tigers trailed by only 17 points in their first match against Cokeville, this game saw them fall by nearly 40 points as the Lady Panthers ended the game 24-66.

“I am hoping that our girls will learn about the physicality of the game and that you can be aggressive and still not foul out,” Bromley said.

Sophomore Lizzie James scored 7 points against Cokeville and had 5 rebounds while Senior Noelle Peterson scored 6 points.

Encampment vs.

Farson-Eden

While Encampment’s girls may have lost by a larger margin to Cokeville than their previous match-up, they were able to maintain a closer score with Farson-Eden this weekend than when they played in mid-January. When the Lady Pronghorns were hosted by Tiger Nation on Jan. 19, Farson-Eden left with a 21 point lead as they ended the game 36-57.

This time, the Lady Tigers shortened that lead as they fell by only 13 points with a final score of 40-53.

“This was the best that our supporting staff has played against a quality team and our sophomores coming out and scoring 26 points is a huge step for us,” said Bromley. “I think we are still getting better every week and hopefully that will pay off for them this week and next and propel us into the State Tournament, where anything can happen.”

Sophomore Shiann Finney led the Lady Tigers against Farson-Eden as she scored 10 points and had 6 rebounds. Fellow sophomore Grace Tieszen followed with 7 points and James scored 7 points and had 9 rebounds. Peterson scored 6 points against the Lady Pronghorns and had 7 rebounds.

“Shiann Finney and Grace Tieszen had their best games to this point and I just expect them to get better from here,” Bromley said.

Following their 0-2 weekend, the Lady Tigers are 6-12 for the season and 1-6 for conference. Encampment will be hosted by the Saratoga Lady Panthers (3-14, 0-6) at 5 p.m. on Thursday where, depending on the outcome, the two teams may have to face-off again in a pigtail game. On Friday, the Lady Tigers will be hosted by the Rock River Lady Longhorns at 4 p.m. and, finally, on Saturday will host the North Park Lady Wildcats at noon as they bring their regular season to a close.