The Lady Chiefs easily rolled over four teams last weekend at the Glenrock Tournament. With 10 senior girls on the roster, head coach Aleta Moss has depth, talent, and the ability to mix different lineups.
Wyoming Indian handled Class 3-A Glenrock 65-28, held Class 1-A Kaycee to just two points in the second half in a 69-15 runaway, pulled away from a feisty Wright team in the fourth period 58-33, and pressed past Lusk 65-28.
“It was a good first weekend,” Wyoming Indian head coach Aleta Moss said. “We beat a decent Wright team in our last game. We didn’t shoot very well in the first half, and they kept it close. But we managed to break them down with our defensive pressure in the fourth quarter to get the win. We outscored them 21-8 in the fourth.”
Against Glenrock, the Lady Chiefs doubled the Herders in the first period 20-10 and led 36-23 at the half.
A pattern emerged against Glenrock that held against every team they faced except Wright. The Lady Chiefs clamped down defensively in the second half in their games with Glenrock, Kaycee, and Lusk.
The relentless full-court pressure that the Lady Chiefs deliver, combined with their fast-paced transition offense has opponents with their hands on their knees during free throws early in the second period.
Glenrock scored just five second-half points, all on free throws.
Kaycee had just a pair of free throws in the third and fourth periods combined, and Lusk tallied a dozen second-half points but hit only three 2-point shots and six free throws.
Playing that style of full-court defense and mixing in fast break points by a talented front line of guards with solid post players create a challenge for anyone Wyoming Indian faces.
The Lady Chiefs are in the Foothills Classic this weekend at Tongue River and Big Horn with games starting on Thursday at 6 p.m. against host Tongue River. Friday Wyoming Indian plays Wright and Big Horn then concludes the tournament against Greybull on Saturday.
WYOMING INDIAN 20 16 16 13 – 65
GLENROCK 10 13 2 3 – 28
Wyoming Indian – Michaela Hiwalker 1 0-0 2, Roberta Whiteplume 3 0-0 6, Taline Tendore 2 (1) 4-6 11, Taya Dixey 6 0-0 12, Elianna Duran 5 2-5 12, Dionne Ferris 3-6 3, Maggie Smith 1 0-0 2, Shye Killsontop 4 (1) 0-0 11, Camillia Brown 3 0-2 6. Totals 25 (2) 9-18 65
Glenrock – Sixbey 1 (1) 2-2 7, Helmey 1-2 1, Smith 1 1-2 3, Survey 4 4-5 12, Williams 1 3-8 5. Totals 7 (1) 11-19 28
WYOMING INDIAN 20 23 15 11 – 69
KAYCEE 2 11 2 0 – 15
Wyoming Indian – Hiwalker 1 (1) 0-0 5, Whiteplume 2 0-0 4, Tendore 3 2-6 8, America Oldman 1 0-0 2, Dixey 2 1-2 5, Duran 3 0-0 6, Ferris 3 (1) 4-4 13, Smith 2 0-0 4, Killsontop 4 (2) 0-0 14, Brown 3 2-2 8. Totals 24 (4) 9-14 69
Kaycee – Casey Pryor 1 0-2 2, Jolene 2-6 2, Alaina Davis 1 1-4 3, Denise Ortega-Chavez 3-4 3, Destiny 1-2 1, Cheyenne Brock 2 0-2 4. Totals 4 11-22 15
WYOMING INDIAN 11 8 16 21 – 58
WRIGHT 8 8 9 8 – 33
Wyoming Indian – Hiwalker 2 0-1 4, Whiteplume 2 0-0 4, Tendore 2 0-0 4, Dixey 5 0-0 10, Duran 9 (1) 1-4 22, Smith 1 0-0 2, Killsontop 4 2-2 10. Totals 26 (1) 3-7 58
Wright – Totals 9 (1) 12-23
WYOMING INDIAN 13 17 14 21 – 65
LUSK 12 4 6 6 – 28
Wyoming Indian – Hiwalker 1-1 1, Whiteplume 1 0-0 2, Tendore 4 (2) 2-2 16, Oldman 1 0-0 2, Felter (1) 0-0 3, Dixey 1 0-2 2, Duran 5 0-3 10, Ferris 2 0-0 4, Smith 2 1-2 5, Killsontop 3 (2) 2-4 14, Brown 3 0-2 6. Totals 22 (5) 6-16 65
Lusk – Tessa Manning 2-4 2, Gracie Zumbrunnen 0-0 2, Melody Zumbrunnen 3-4 3, Phoebe Albright 2 0-0 4, Rachale Krein 5 5-6 15, Hannah Krein 2-2 2, Sarah Krein 2-6 2. Totals 7 14-22 28