It’s always a physical game when the Lady Cougars and the Lady Blue meet on the court, but the first meeting this season between the two teams looked like a game between girls who did not qualify for the state Elks Hoop Shoot at the free throw line.
In a foul-plagued, marathon game, Wind River outlasted Shoshoni 49-45 at Pavillion Friday night. The two teams combined for 63 free throw attempts with Wind River shooting much better at the line, converting 22 of 36 attempts.
Saturday the Lady Cougars fell in heart breaker at Greybull 48-47, while Shoshoni lost at home to Rocky Mountain 43-28.
In a four-point loss, every free throw matters, and Shoshoni missed a bevy of them, 16 in all, in an 11-of-27 performance at the charity stripe.
The game opened with Shoshoni scoring well and leading the Cougars 17-13, but the Lady Blue went cold in the next two periods, scoring just five and six points respectively in the second and third periods.
Shoshoni outscored the Lady Cougars 32-27 from the floor, but repeated fouls on Wind River players in the paint, and dynamic offensive rebounding by the Lady Cougars were the difference in the game. Wind River had several possessions with four and five follow shots before scoring or being fouled.
Wind River continues to improve and that improvement was on display in the decisive second quarter when the Lady Cougar offense clicked with crisp perimeter passes spreading the Shoshoni defense and generating point-blank shots.
Wind River bumped their lead to double digits in the final period, but a late Lady Blue rally threatened to steal the win. A pair of 3-pointers by Abigale Jennings and Hailey Donelson, combined with four-for-four free throw shooting, the best of the game for Shoshoni, closed the gap to three, but Wind River was able to hold on for the win.
Allison Tidzump led the Cougars with 14 points, and she dominated on the glass as well. Amanda Jenkins tallied 13, including Wind River’s only 3-point shot.
Donelson led all scorers with 15, and Jennings added nine for Shoshoni.
Wind River 13 18 6 10 – 49
Shoshoni 17 5 6 16 – 45
Wind River – Natalie Walker 2 3-4 7, Karina Frederick 1-2 1, Jonae Spoonhunter 1 5-12 7, Ariana Spoonhunter 2 0-0 4, Amanda Jenkins 2 (1) 6-10 13, Allison Tidzump 4 6-10 14. Totals 12 (1) 22-36 49
Shoshoni – Jerikah Huelle 3-4 3, Sonja Post 1 0-2 4, Sway Fike 2 0-0 4, Morgan Donelson 1-4 1, Abbigail Jennings 1 (1) 4-7 9, Hailey Donelson 2 (3) 2-6 15, Megan Harris 1 0-0 2, Tania St. Clair 4 0-4 8. Totals 11 (4) 11-27 45