Local girls basketball review

Erick Starkey
Posted 1/19/18

Girls basketball teams across the state have hit the midway point in their 2017-18 season, with region and state tournaments coming in just over a month.

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Local girls basketball review

Posted

TORRINGTON – Girls basketball teams across the state have hit the midway point in their 2017-18 season, with region and state tournaments coming in just over a month.

Torrington

The Lady Blazers currently hold a 3-7 record, but their 38-37 win over Newcastle on Jan. 5 puts them toward the top of their quadrant with a 1-0 record against quadrant opponents. Most recently, Torrington is coming off of a 71-35 loss against an undefeated Mitchell, Neb.

As a team, Torrington sits 13th in 3A in scoring, putting up 36.4 points per game, while allowing 51.7 points per game, which is 15th in the class. On the boards, the Lady Blazers rank ninth with 28.5 rebounds per contest, while their 26 percent shooting percentage puts them 16th.

Taylor Walsh sits atop the scoring sheet for the Lady Blazers, averaging 7.9 points per game. Logan Murphy is a fraction of a point behind, tallying 7.7 points per game, while Adia Sherbeyn has turned in 6.8 points per game. Chrissy Lira (4.4 PPG), Brooklyn Tucker (3.2 PPG) and Sam Hill (3.0 PPG) are also scoring options that Torrington has. Twelve different Lady Blazers average one or more points each game.

On the boards, Murphy ranks fourth in 3A with 8.6 to her credit, including 3.1 on offense and 5.4 on defense. Lira also has a big presence on the boards with 4.3 rebounds per game, followed by Sherbeyn, with 3.8 rebounds, Tucker, with 3.7 boards, and Hailey Hashman, who averages 3.5 rebounds per game.

Several Lady Blazers are menaces on defense, led by Sherbeyn’s 3.7 steals per game, which is fourth in the class. Murphy ranks ninth in 3A with 3.1 steals per game to her credit. Tucker (2.8 SPG) and Walsh (2.6 SPG) round out the top steal options for the Lady Blazers.

Southeast

The Lady Cyclones are the only team in Goshen County that currently has a winning record, boasting a 6-5 mark on the season. Southeast has won its past three games and four of its past five. Most recently, the Lady Cyclones handled business against county rival Lingle-Fort Laramie, 44-27, on Saturday.

The Lady Cyclones’ 35.6 points per game as a team puts them at 13th in 2A. They are stalwarts on the defensive end of the floor, limiting their opponents to 35.3 points per game, which ranks them fourth in the class.

Hailey Anderson and Ellie Schmitt are two big reasons for the Lady Cyclones’ success this season. In the past five games, Schmitt has racked up 15 points per game, while Anderson has averaged 13.4 points.

The pair is also big on the boards, sitting first and second on the team’s rebounding list in each of the past five games, with Anderson pulling down 9.6 rebounds and Schmitt chipping in another eight.

Outside of Anderson and Schmitt, the Lady Cyclones have contributions from several players. Morgan Ekwall has led the team in assists in two of the past five games, while Kadra Clark has led the category twice. Kaci Schmick and Macie Murphy have also seen plenty of time on the floor this winter.

Lingle-Fort Laramie

The Lady Doggers sit at 4-6 halfway through their season. They have lost their last two games, falling to Lusk on Friday 79-22 and Southeast on Saturday 44-27. Before their past two losses, L-FL won four of their previous five games.

In the scoring department, the Lady Doggers rank 11th in 1A, pouring in 34.2 points per game. They have allowed their opponents to score 44.1 points per game, which puts them 14th in the class. L-FL sits 11th in 1A with a 31 percent shooting percentage and it ranks 14th on the boards, averaging 27.9 rebounds per contest.

Jade Cooper is the top scorer for the Lady Doggers, accounting for 9.8 points per game. Savannah Mirich is another big contributor for L-FL with 7.1 points to her credit. Kaelyn Riley has 6.5 points to her credit in her four games on the floor for L-FL after returning from injury, while Ashley Riley has chipped in 4.1 points per game this winter.

Shelby Heilbrun is the biggest force on the boards, coming down with 6.4 rebounds per game, including 3.1 on the offensive end of the floor. Cooper has tallied 5.6 rebounds per game, while Kaelyn Riley and Mirich both average 4.3 rebounds a game. Ashley Riley (3.0 RPG) and Torey Bever (2.8 RPG) both have a presence on the glass.

Cooper tops the list in assists per game, with 2.5, followed closely by Ashley Riley’s 2.2. Riley also has a team-high 1.5 steals per game, with Kelcie Sargent (1.4 SPG) and Cooper (1.2) kicking in more than one steal a game.