Lady Miners playing until the last buzzer

On February 11, the Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) Lady Miners faced the Rock River Lady Longhorns and came up short.

“To be quite honest, they handled up pretty easily,” said Head Coach Jackie Jones. “They are definitely a seasoned basketball team and a good basketball team. The coaches do a good job of getting the most out of their girls. My hat is off to them.”

Rock River dealt the Lady Miners a nearly 40 point loss, winning 56-17.

Jones said the Lady Miners are making mistakes on the court which need to stop in order to win.

“We have to make the decision not to make the same mistakes,” said Jones. “Unfortunately, some of the mistakes are turning into habits.”

Despite the habits, the head coach does see effort being put out by her players.

“They are out there giving it their all and that counts for a lot,” Jones said. “This week we have three games and then we move to regionals. These next couple weeks, we have some basketball to play and that is what we are going to do.”

Jones said she is happy the team is playing as much basketball this week as they are.

“We need to play more basketball before going into regionals and keep plugging away,” Jones said. “That is what basketball is about.”

Jones said she was happy with how Hanna Gonzales is shooting.

“Hanna continues to shoot the ball for us well,” Jones said. “I am encouraged by the hustle defense. I have some girls that get out on the court, who might not be contributing offensively but know their roles.”

She uses Sam Tylka as an example.

“Sam, as far as defense, knows that is where she is going to earn her playing time,” Jones said. “She is good for us defensively.”

Jones knows this week will have some strong challenges for the Lady Miners. They will have hosted the Encampment Lady Tigers on February 14 and will host the Guernsey-Sunrise Lady Vikings at 4:30 on February 17 and the Southeast Lady Cyclones at 1:30 p.m. on February 18.

“We get into practice and I can see the effort as the girls plug away to get better, that might not be so apparent in the games,” Jones said. “We continue to work on skills and build on what we do well. There is no give up.”

Jones said she hopes to do well as the weeks progress.

“We are going to keep fighting,” Jones said. “We won’t quit until the last buzzer.”