The GRHS Lady Wolves Basketball team made history last weekend, bringing home a Regional Title for the first time since 1998. Pictured, from left, are McKinley Killpack, Maci Hernandez, Addison Demaret, Sydnie Eastman, Coach Clinton Landon and Natalie Tynsky.
Green River Lady Wolves Vasity team: Sophia Arnold, Mikayla Flores, Addison Demaret, Isabel Vasco, Natalie Tynsky, Sydnie Eastman, Rylin Arnel, Reghan Obray, Nicole Wilson, Brookelyn Phillips, Eva Murray, Maci Hernandez and McKinley Killpack.
Last week the Green River Lady Wolves Basketball team not only participated in the 4A West Regional Tournament, but they also managed to go undefeated and came away with their first regional title since 1998.The tournament was held in Rock Springs across three days, and the Lady Wolves played spectacularly throughout.
The team started their historic tournament run against the Riverton Wolverines on Thursday. Green River wasted no time during this game, and came out hot during the first quarter to take a demanding early lead of 24-5. The team kept this relentless pace throughout the entire game, never allowing Riverton a chance to get back into the game. They ended up winning the game 66-30, a great way to start off their tournament. Head Coach Clinton Landon said he has been focusing hard on the team's defense, and things seem to have come together at the perfect time for the team.
"I couldn't have been more proud of the defensive effort against Riverton," he stated.
The team had great performances from many girls during this game. Nicole Wilson was the leading scorer with 16 points, with Addison Demaret and Isabel Vasco just behind her with 15 points each. Sydnie Eastman tied Wilson and Demaret for most rebounds, as all three girls got six rebounds throughout the game. Vasco led the team in steals, snatching the ball away from Riverton six times in total, followed by Eastman with five steals and Wilson with four. Demaret led the team in blocks with six total, and also tied with Vasco for most assists, with both girls having five assists. Sophia Arnold had a great game as well as she scored 10 points along with five rebounds.
Next up for the Lady Wolves was their game against the Star Valley Braves in the semi-finals. Star Valley was putting up a good fight, and Green River wasn't able to find as much success early on like they did in their first game. It was a very defensive first half, with neither team willing to give an inch to the other. The half ended with Green River being up 16-14.
During half time, Coach Landon said they decided to make some adjustments on defense. They started playing zone coverage instead of man-to-man, and this ended up being a great call as the girls executed this new game plan beautifully. They held Star Valley to only 11 points in the second half, and this along with some amazing scoring from Vasco propelled them to a 47-25 victory.
Vasco was a stand-out player during this game, scoring an unbelievable 31 points. The next best scorers were Arnold and Wilson, who scored seven and six points respectively. Wilson led the team in steals with eight total. She also led the team in rebounds, securing the ball eight times, followed by Arnold and Vasco with six rebounds each. Demaret led the team in blocks once more, this time with five total.
After two great defensive games from the Lady Wolves, it was time for their biggest challenge of the tournament: the Natrona Fillies in the finals. The game started out close, with the Lady Wolves taking a 16-10 lead by the end of the first quarter. Not satisfied with this small lead, Green River exploded onto the court in the second quarter and scored 25 points to take a 41-20 lead by halftime. Natrona fought back in the second half to try and close the gap, but the Lady Wolves would not be denied and came away with a 56-42 victory.
The team had great scoring from many players in the finals: Wilson led the team with 17 points, Vasco scored 12 points, Demaret scored nine points, Arnold scored seven points, and Brookelyn Phillips scored six points. Wilson also had the most rebounds with 11, followed by Vasco and Arnold who each had six.
Coach Landon said that he has seen how much potential the team has all year, and everything finally came together during Regionals. He also mentioned how the weekend was filled with many special moments for him. It meant a lot to him to see how his team rallied to support the Wilson and Killpack families in the past few weeks following their personal losses. He said he'll never forget the moment when he got to give the championship plaque to Nicole Wilson. The team surely will remember this amazing weekend as well, and will forever be Regional champions!
They also have a great opportunity to go after something even more special this week: the State title. The 4A State Tournament will be held this week in Casper, with games starting today and continuing until Saturday. Coach Landon said that he expects the games against the East Conference to be tough, but he thinks if the team is able play as well as they did last week, then they have a real shot at making a run for the title. Green River will begin the tournament against the Campbell County Camels, with the game starting at 5:30 p.m. today. If they win, they can expect to face either Cheyenne Central or Star Valley in the semi-finals tomorrow.
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