Lady Huskies wrap season with 3rd at State

Basketball season has ended and the Lady Huskies finished with a third-place finish at the state tournament. Burlington ended the season with a 24-5 record, going undefeated in conference play. Heading into state weekend, Burlington was the leading rebounding team in 1A. 

In the first contest against Niobrara County (Lusk), the Lady Huskies came out strong in the first quarter and never let up, out-scoring Lusk 68-37. Burlington shot 50.9% from the field and 66.7% from the free throw line and outrebounded the Lady Tigers 40-19. “The girls played really well. They started out strong and never gave up. All the girls were able to get some playing time. It was nice to get the first win under our belts and prepare for the semifinals on Friday,” said Coach Cheryl Haslam. 

Paxton Philpott led the team with 21 points, four steals and three assists. Sarah McNiven had 17 points, eight rebounds and three steals and Naomi McNiven had 15 points, five rebounds, three steals and four assists. 

Saturday’s game against Southeast, the East Regional’s top team, had a completely different feel for the Lady Huskies. “We knew this was going to be a tough game and we’d have to play hard for four quarters,” said Haslam. “Southeast is a very disciplined team that controls the pace of games very well. We tend to feed off a quicker pace, so that is hard on us when we can’t constantly run the ball.” 

The Lady Huskies struggled on the boards, getting outrebounded 41-16. “This is not our normal rebounding, so that was hard to see. We were inside, but were not making contact and they came away with several rebounds and put backs for points. The girls didn’t ever give up defensively. They worked so hard throughout the game, but, like I said, when we can’t play our pace on offense, we tend to struggle. Even though it was a tough loss that put us out of the championship, I was proud of the way the girls played. They didn’t give up like I’ve seen in the past.” 

The game ended in a 38-26 loss. Philpott had 11 points and three steals and Hailee Winterholler led rebounding with six. 

The win earned Burlington a spot playing for third place against Cokeville. The Panthers struck quickly and jumped to a 14-2 lead with 5 minutes left of the first quarter. What looked like it could be a repeat of the regionals game last week, instead continued with the Lady Huskies finding their rhythm and settling into their game. “The girls calmed down and gathered themselves and were up by one at the end of the first quarter. The girls worked well as a team, which is what we’ve done when we win big games.” 

Both teams shot 39.6% from the field and Cokeville was 40.9% from the 3-point line, but the Lady Huskies had an impressive 63.6% from the free throw line. They had 16 second chance points to Cokeville’s 7 and outrebounded the Panthers 42-25. After taking the lead in the gotst quarter, the Lady Huskies held it throughout the rest of the game and they finished with a final score of 58-51, taking third place overall. “Even though we didn’t make it to the Championship like we had hoped, the girls finished strong and played well,” said Haslam. 

Philpott led the team with 19 points, five rebounds and three steals. N. McNiven had 18 points, nine rebounds, and three steals. S. McNiven had 13 points and eight rebounds. 

Niobrara County   0    9  11  17 – 37

Burlington           15  19  23  11 – 68 

BURLINGTON – C. Philpott 0-0 1-2 1, P. Philpott 9-15 1-2 21, Aagard 1-1 0-0 2, S. McNiven 6-9 4-6 17, Stanworth 2-4 0-0 4, N. McNiven 6-10 2-2 15, H. Winterholler 1-7 0-0 2, Bassett 3-6 0-0 6. Totals 28-55 8-12 68. 

3-POINT GOALS – P. Philpott 2, S. McNiven 1, N. McNiven 1. REBOUNDS – Burlington 40 (S. McNiven 8, H. Winterholler 6, N. McNiven 5, Stanworth 4). STEALS – Burlington 14 (P. Philpott 4, S. McNiven 3, N. McNiven 3). ASSISTS – Burlington 10 (N. McNiven 4, P. Philpott 3, H. Winterholler 3). TURNOVERS – Burlington 13. 

Southeast  9  10  10  9 – 38

Burlington  4  10   3   9 – 26 

BURLINGTON – Haslam 1-6 0-0 2, P. Philpott 4-9 3-6 11, S. McNiven 2-4 0-0 4, N. McNiven 0-3 3-8 3, H. Winterholler 1-4 0-0 2, Bassett 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 10-29 6-14 26. 

REBOUNDS – Burlington 16 (H. Winterholler 6, N. McNiven 3). STEALS – Burlington 6 (P. Philpott 3). ASSISTS – Burlington 6. TURNOVERS – Burlington 11. 

Cokeville   14  11  13  13 – 51

Burlington 15  15  17  11 – 58 

BURLINGTON – P. Philpott 9-18 0-2 19, S. McNiven 2-7 9-10 13, N. McNiven 7-14 3-6 18, H. Winterholler 1-3 0-0 2, Bassett 2-5 2-4 6. Totals 21-53 14-22 58. 

3-POINT GOALS – P. Philpott 1, N. McNiven 1. REBOUNDS – Burlington 42 (N. McNiven 9, S. McNiven 8, H. Winterholler 6, P. Philpott 5, Bassett 5). STEALS – Burlington 8 (P. Philpott 3, N. McNiven 3). ASSISTS – Burlington 4. TURNOVERS – Burlington 18.