Lady Blazers beat Wheatland

Robert Galbreath
Posted 1/29/25

The Torrington High School Lady Blazers scored a decisive conference win against Wheatland on the road.

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Lady Blazers beat Wheatland

Posted

 TORRINGTON – Strong shooting and rebounding by the Torrington High School Lady Blazers against the Wheatland Lady Bulldogs at an away game on Thursday, January 23, resulted in a 54-46 conference victory for Torrington.

A back-and-forth battle in the first half ended with Torrington ahead by a single possession, 22-19. The Lady Blazers controlled the scoreboard in the second half, anchored by a 19-6 performance in the third quarter, to clinch the victory.

On Saturday, the Lady Blazers hosted top-ranked Douglas with Torrington falling, 63-26.

Wheatland

Torrington set the momentum with an 8-2 run in the first quarter. Senior Madix McIntosh drained a pair of outside shots and fellow senior Teryn Stokes found an opening in the perimeter to score. On defense, seniors Olive Osmera and Jaycee Hurley both picked up steals.

The Lady Bulldogs scored twice before the Lady Blazers responded with a four-point run of their own to post a 12-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. Senior Natalie Long netted a jumper while Hurley scored on a fastbreak.

Wheatland pulled up and tied the game early in the second quarter at 13 points. McIntosh took possession and tossed in a close-range shot to regain the lead, 15-13.

The Lady Bulldogs scored and the game deadlocked again at 15. Osmera lined up for a 3-pointer and the advantage swung back to the Lady Blazers, 18-15.

Stokes and McIntosh both tallied two points and Torrington remained ahead by one possession, 22-19, at halftime.

The Lady Blazers came out hard and fast in the third quarter, netting 19 points while a dogged Lady Blazer defense held Wheatland to six. Long led on the scoreboard  in the third with eight points, including shooting 6-for-8 from the free-throw line. Osmera and McIntosh both scored from outside the perimeter while Hurley contributed a jumper and a free throw. 

On defense, pressure by Hurley, Long and junior Kennedy Reinhardt resulted in several key turnovers.

The Lady Bulldogs attempted to close the gap in the fourth quarter, reducing Torrington’s lead to a single possession, 49-46, with one minute remaining in regulation.

Long responded by converting an and-1. Hurley pulled down a defensive rebound, setting Stokes up to toss in a pair of free throws. Reinhardt rebounded a missed shot by Wheatland and the Lady Blazers ended the game in possession.

“Wheatland was the most important game of the week for us in making sure we stay up near the top of our conference standings,” coach Chris Strampe said. “Wheatland had been on a hot streak to start the season, so it was huge to be able to go into their gym and pick up a quality win. I liked how we responded when tested in the second half, persevering to hang on for the victory.”

Torrington finished the game with a point spread among six players.

“Madix McIntosh hit some huge shots to pace us in scoring with 16 on the night,” Strampe added. “Natalie Long kept up her efforts to chip in 13 points.”

Osmera contributed nine points, Stokes eight and Hurley seven. Stokes dominated the boards once again, pulling down 14 rebounds.

“I’m sure we will see Wheatland several more times this year and we look to continue adding on to our streak of six wins in a row over them,” Strampe said.

Douglas stats

Stokes led the Lady Blazers in scoring against Douglas with six points. Long, Reinhardt and McIntosh each collected five points.

On the boards, Stokes pulled down six rebounds while Long and Reinhardt each tallied four.

“I could tell that we were physically and emotionally worn out from the Wheatland game and Douglas does a great job of taking advantage of any edge you give them,” Strampe added. “We had a rough opening quarter with some misses on shots we usually put in and could never really recover from that point. We will see them again and will be ready to match their intensity.”