Lady Huskies fall to Cokeville in Championship game

With a strong showing at the regional in Lander, the Lady Huskies ended with a second place finish and a trip to State. 

Thursday, Burlington faced Saratoga, who they beat in the beginning of the season with a buzzer beater. “We knew going into this game that we’d need to guard their big on the inside,” said Coach Cheryl Haslam. “Hailee Winterholler, Dalley Bassett and Sarah McNiven did a great job of this. They kept the ball out of her hands or went strong against her on offense and drew the foul. They held her to three points, which is a huge improvement from the last time we played them, when she scored 15 points.” 

The game was rough, but the Lady Huskies came away with the win, 48-25. Paxton Philpott led the team with 14 points, six steals and two assists. S. McNiven was close behind with 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists. 

Next up for the Lady Huskies was Little Snake River in the semi-final game. Burlington came out strong, outscoring the Lady Rattlers 20-5 in the first quarter and won, 60-37. “We had a few ups and downs in the third quarter, but they pushed through. Our three pointers were finally falling and our rebounding game was back. We outrebounded them 48-30 and had 28 offensive rebounds to their 8. So we were able to get quite a few put backs on our end.” 

Philpott led the team with 16 points, six rebounds, eight steals and five assists. Naomi McNiven had 11 points, six rebounds, three steals and four assists, S. McNiven had 10 points, 13 rebounds, five steals and two assists. Bassett had 11 rebounds and nine points. 

The win earned the Lady Huskies their spot in the championship game against Cokeville for the sixth year in a row. Cokeville has won every one of those games. “I was hoping that the outcome would be different than the last several times we’ve had this match up, but they came out strong and we didn’t,” Haslam said. “The girls seem to have a mental block every year in this championship match up. We’ve worked all year on mental toughness and they have been doing so much better, but the frustration took over and everything else fell apart.” 

Cokeville hit hard and strong, outscoring the Lady Huskies 42-13 in the first half, including 7 three pointers. “The girls were pretty defeated at halftime. We talked about going back out and playing the game that they know how to play, despite the score. They did come out and play better the second half. They were working hard and getting some points on the board. They tied 15-15 for the second half, but after getting down by so much, we couldn’t come back, ” said Haslam.

Philpott led the team with 10 points and four assists. Hailee Winterholler led with eight rebounds and four points and Bassett had seven points and seven rebounds. 

The Lady Huskies will face Niobrara County (Lusk) in the first game of the State tournament on Thursday at 9 a.m. in the Ford Wyoming Center. 

Saratoga     3    8    6   8 – 25

Burlington 15  12  10  11 – 48 

BURLINGTON – Haslam 2-12 0-0 4, P. Philpott 7-18 0-0 14, S. McNiven 5-7 1-2 11, Stanworth 1-2 0-0 2, N. McNiven 3-7 0-0 6, H. Winterholler 1-6 0-0 2, Bassett 4-9 0-0 9. Totals 23-61 1-2 48. 

3-POINT GOALS – Bassett 1. REBOUNDS – Burlington 20 (S. McNiven 8, H. Winterholler 4, Bassett 4). STEALS – Burlington 17 (P. Philpott 6, N. McNiven 5, Bassett 3). ASSISTS – Burlington 11 (N. McNiven 4, S. McNiven 3, P. Philpott 2). TURNOVERS – Burlington 20. 

Little Snake River   5  11  10  11 – 37

Burlington             20  14  11  15 – 60 

BURLINGTON – Haslam 3-9 1-5 8, P. Philpott 7-23 1-2 16, S. McNiven 5-15 0-4 10, N. McNiven 5-12 0-0 11, H. Winterholler 3-8 0-0 6, Bassett 4-8 1-2 9. Totals 27-78 2-8 60. 

3-POINT GOALS – Haslam 2, P. Philpott 1, N. McNiven 1. REBOUNDS – Burlington 48 (S. McNiven 13, Bassett 11, H. Winterholler 8, P. Philpott 6, N. McNiven 6). STEALS – Burlington 19 (P. Philpott 8, S. McNiven 5, N. McNiven 3). ASSISTS – Burlington 12 (P. Philpott 5, N. McNiven 4, S. McNiven 2). TURNOVERS – Burlington 17. 

Cokeville  21  21  12    3 – 57

Burlington  4    9   10  15 – 38 

BURLINGTON – Haslam 2-7 0-0 4, P. Philpott 5-17 0-0 10, S. McNiven 3-4 1-2 7, N. McNiven 2-6 2-4 6, H. Winterholler 1-6 2-2 4, Bassett 2-6 3-4 7. Totals 15-46 8-12 38. 

REBOUNDS – Burlington 29 (H. Winterholler 8, Bassett 7, S. McNiven 4, N. McNiven 4). STEALS – Burlington 7 (N. McNiven 4). ASSISTS – Burlington 14 (P. Philpott 4, N. McNiven 4, Bassett 3). TURNOVERS – Burlington 19.