The Southeast High School Cyclones snagged the No. 2 berth at the 1A State Tournament in Casper this weekend following decisive victories against Kaycee and Hulett at regionals.
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LARAMIE – Back-to-back victories by the Southeast High School Lady Cyclones at the 1A East Regional Tournament in Laramie secured a state berth for the Lady Cyclones as the No. 2 seed at the upcoming state championships this weekend in Casper.
Southeast opened the regional tournament with a resounding 41-15 victory against Kaycee on February 22. Following a neck-and-neck first quarter, the Lady Cyclones dominated the subsequent three quarters, completely shutting out Kaycee from scoring in the second quarter.
“We started a little bit slow against Kaycee in the first quarter, but when we got locked in and centered on our opponent, the kids did a tremendous job,” coach Jennifer Scheer said. “We played good defense and handled the game plan exceptionally well.”
Southeast advanced to the semifinals to play Hulett on Friday. A 14-5 first quarter by the Lady Cyclones lay the foundation for a decisive 39-15 victory against the Lady Red Devils.
“Against Hulett, we had to change our game plan a little bit, but our girls did a tremendous job with that,” Scheer said. “Our defense spoke for itself and lots of kids contributed different minutes.”
Advancing to the championship game, Southeast faced off against Upton. The game remained neck-and-neck through the first half before Upton pulled up in the third quarter to maintain the lead until the end of regulation, 44-28.
“I was extremely proud of our girls at the start of the game against Upton,” Scheer added. “Upton is a talented and experienced team. We did a good job going toe-to-toe with them in the first half, but lost our focus in the third quarter and weren’t able to dig out of the hole.”
Southeast kicks off the 1A State Basketball Championships with a game against Little Snake River on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in Casper’s Ford Wyoming Center.
Kaycee
A tight first quarter ended with Southeast up, 9-6. Senior Baylie Booth opened scoring for the Lady Cyclones with an outside shot. On defense, Booth, junior Anna Hartman and sophomore Kaycee Kosmicki each snatched a steal.
An explosive second quarter saw the Lady Cyclones toss in 13 points while an ironclad Southeast defense prevented Kaycee from scoring. Booth led the effort both offensively and defensively, posting 11 points during the quarter and making multiple steals.
Southeast led, 22-6, at halftime.
The Lady Cyclones topped Kaycee in scoring, 11-4, in the third quarter. Junior Brooklyn Leithead netted four points and senior Sasha Haines drained a 3-pointer.
Southeast’s second string entered the fray in the fourth quarter.
Ten Lady Cyclones contributed to the final points spread, led by Booth with 19 points. Brooklyn Leithead tallied five and Haines three. Hartman, sophomore Keana Llewellyn, sophomore Hadley Leithead, senior Kylee Llewellyn, Kosmicki and freshmen Haylee Ekwall and Rein Carlson each contributed a jumper.
Hulett
The Lady Cyclones set the momentum in the first quarter, outmaneuvering Hulett, 14-5. Kosmicki tossed in eight points for Southeast with Booth netting four.
Southeast continued to hammer away at Hulett in the second quarter, topping Hulett in scoring, 10-4. Haines and Kosmicki both tossed in four points while Booth, Haines, Kosmicki and Hartman each made steals.
The halftime score favored Southeast, 24-9.
Southeast went on to win both the third quarter, 9-4, and the second quarter, 6-2.
Kosmicki led Southeast in scoring against Hulett with 15 points. Booth tallied eight, Haines seven, Hadley Leithead six, Ekwall two and Kylee Llewellyn a free throw.
