GR plays well in heartbreaker

While the game did not end in their favor, their were plenty of positives last Thursday night for the Green River High School girl’s basketball team.

The Lady Wolves (2-11, 0-3 4A West) had two three points shot attempts in the last five seconds that would have given them a one-point lead against bitter rival Rock Springs. Unfortunately neither fell and the Lady Tigers held on for a dramatic 42-39 victory.

Following the game, Green River head coach Rick Carroll said he was happy with his teams performance and said they showed great intensity of defense.

Rock Springs came out of the gates early and took a 6-0 lead before Green River clamped down on defense and was able to tie the game at six going into the second quarter.

The Lady Wolves took their first lead of the game with 5:09 left in the second quarter on a steal an basket by sophomore standout Taylor Stoeger who led the team with 12 points.

The rest of the second quarter was a back and fourth affair and a late Rock Springs run would give them a 20-17 lead at half.

This would set the stage for a nail-biting second half that was the epitome of what a rivalry game should be.

The start of the second half did not go well for the Lady Wolves who found themselves trailing 32-25 at the end of the third quarter.

The Lady Tigers continued the momentum at the start of the final quarter and took their biggest lead of the game (36-27) early in the fourth.

The resilient Green River squad quickly battled back and cut the lead to three after consecutive three-point baskets by Payton Bartlett and Stoeger.

In the closing minutes of the game the Lady Wolves pulled to within one (40-39) on a free throw by senior Kasey Turnbull, who showed tremendous heart returning to the game after a hitting her head on the floor earlier in the half.

After a Rock Springs free throw to give them a 41-39 lead, Green River had a chance to steal the game but three-pointers by Stoeger and Averee Cobb fell short.

“Down the stretch we had several opportunities to tie or go ahead,” Carroll said.

While the shots did not go their way, he said they girl’s just need to continue to keep shooting. He said they are doing everything they can to get a win and they will keep working hard.

Carroll was pleased with the teams play on offense against the Lady Tigers.

“I saw some great improvements from the team tonight,” he said. “I like that when the girls had the opportunity to shoot, they shot it.”

This weekend, Green River will travel to Casper to play against 4 West foes Kelly Walsh and Natrona High Schools.

Carroll said he likes the way the team has played their last six quarters and hopes this continues to the Casper game.

“We’re playing better,” he said.