CHADRON, Neb. – The strong start by the Torrington High School basketball team wasn’t enough in a 56-35 loss to the Chadron Lady Cardinals on Saturday evening.
The Lady Blazers jumped out to a 13-6 lead after the first eight minutes, but the momentum quickly changed back in the favor of the home team in the second quarter.
“I was excited how we came out,” THS coach Jeff Halley said. “Jumping on them with a lead in the first was very encouraging.”
Unlike Torrington, Saturday’s game was the sixth of the season for Chadron.
“As the game wore on, you could tell that they had two extra weeks of practice and five games under their belts,” Halley said. “We started to wear down and make more mental mistakes.”
Over the final three quarters of play, the Lady Cardinals outscored the Lady Blazers 50-22, and Chadron’s height proved to be a challenge for Torrington.
“They are probably the best basketball team in the Nebraska Panhandle, and they know how to win. They caused a lot of matchup problems for us with two six-footers,” Halley said.
Despite that, Halley was encouraged by the positives he saw from his team.
“The score escalated in a hurry in the second half when we wore down, but we can take a lot of good things away from the weekend,” he said. “We have a nice team that should be good as we move on.”
Sophomore Reece Halley led Torrington with 11 points and four steals. Junior Avery Fox and senior Chloe Krick added seven points each.
The Lady Blazers travel to Lander this week with a focus on improving on their rebound and getting more points from the outside shot attempts.
“We will play two of the better teams in 3A on Friday with Lander and Worland and they we give us a good test as well,” Halley said.
