The Lingle-Fort Laramie Lady Doggers snagged second place at the 2A State Tournament in Casper over the weekend following overwhelming victories against Wind River and Wyoming Indian High School and an epic, neck-and-neck game against Tongue River.
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CASPER – The championship game at the 2A State Basketball Tournament between two talented teams – the Lingle-Fort Laramie (LFL) Lady Doggers and the Tongue River Lady Eagles – truly encapsulated a clash of the titans in the conference.
LFL entered the tournament boasting an undefeated 6-0 conference record and a 20-5 overall record. Tongue River stepped onto the court with a 5-1 conference record and 21-3 overall record.
Both teams left it all on the court in an epic, four-quarter, point-for-point battle at the Ford Wyoming Center on Saturday, March 2.
Tongue River won the first quarter by a single point, 7-6. The Lady Doggers turned the tables in the second quarter to post the lead, 23-19, at halftime.
The back-and-forth continued into the second half with Tongue River up by one point, 34-33, at the close of the third quarter.
The Lady Eagles widened their advantage to several possessions, 41-35, early in the fourth quarter. Digging deep, the Lady Doggers made a concerted effort to close the gap. A pair of 3-pointers by sophomore Skyla Wunder brought the Lady Doggers to within a single possession of overtaking Tongue River, 45-43, near the end of the regulation.
Tongue River netted a free throw with seconds remaining on the clock, and LFL came up short in closing the deficit to fall in a true heartbreaker, 46-43.
The championship ultimately went to Tongue River. The Lady Doggers’ ability to run point-for-point against the No. 1 ranked 2A team in the state stands testament not only to LFL’s exceptional season, but also the Lady Dogger’s stellar performance at the state tournament.
Opening the tournament with a bang, the Lady Doggers decisively defeated Wind River, 47-32, in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Advancing to the semifinals against Wyoming Indian High School (WIHS), the Lady Doggers prevailed by an overwhelming 17-point margin, 68-51.
“The LFL girls played a phenomenal tournament, beating Wind River and the WIHS by double digits in the quarterfinals and semifinals,” coach Susan Bartel said. “I am proud of how hard the girls worked through the whole tournament.”
Each member of the starting lineup rose to the challenge at the season-culminating event.
“Skyla Wunder played consistently well during the tournament and had an amazing game in the championship, scoring 25 points and keeping us neck-and-neck the whole game,” Bartel said. “In our wind river game, (sophomore) Jordynn Speckner had a double-double. In the WIHS game, (senior) Holly Leiseth and (junior) Brenly Shipp played extraordinarily well, both in scoring double digits and providing much-needed rebounding. (Senior) Natalie Speckner worked hard and provided consistent defensive pressure throughout.”
The team also substituted several players who “provided solid minutes” over the course of the tournament, Bartel said, including sophomore Avary Rising, freshman Charlotte Speckner and junior Addison Scott.
“This group of girls is special,” Bartel said. “They are great people both on and off the court. We will miss both Natalie and Holly next year, but they will go on to do great things in their lives.”
Wind River
The Lady Doggers dominated both the first and second quarters to establish a 21-16 lead at halftime. Natalie Speckner opened the game with an outside shot, with Wunder, Leiseth, Rising and Jordynn Speckner each contributing close-range shots in the first quarter.
Wind River attempted to turn the tables in the third quarter, outmaneuvering LFL, 12-7.
Refusing to yield the court, LFL responded with an 11-point run in the fourth quarter. Natalie Speckner kicked off the run with a jumper. Wunder scored on a fastbreak and converted an and-1. Both Wunder and Shipp found openings inside Wind River’s perimeter to score. Natalie Speckner rounded out the run with a 3-pointer.
Wunder led LFL in scoring against Wind River with 12 points. Natalie Speckner posted 10, Jordynn Speckner and Shipp eight apiece, Lesieth five and Rising four.
Natalie Speckner dominated the boards with nine rebounds. Wunder and Natalie Speckner both delivered three assists. On defense, Jordynn Speckner snatched seven steals and Wunder six.
Semifinals – WIHS
A neck-and-neck first half ended with LFL up by a single possession, 31-27.
WIHS tied the game early in the third quarter at 33 points. The Lady Doggers answered back with a 9-point run, including buckets by Wunder, Leiseth, Jordynn Speckner, Shipp and Natalie Speckner.
LFL found itself up by 10 points, 45-35, as the fourth quarter commenced.
Pulling out all the stops in the final eight minutes of regulation, the Lady Doggers topped WIHS in scoring, 23-16. Jordynn Speckner led the LFL offense in the fourth with eight points. Shipp contributed six points with Wunder and Leiseth each netting three.
Both Jordynn Speckner and Wunder tossed in 17 points against WIHS. Shipp posted 14 points, Leiseth 10, Natalie Speckner nine and Charlotte Speckner a free throw.
Jordynn Speckner went double-double with 11 rebounds. Natalie Speckner pulled down 10 rebounds. Defensively, both Jordynn Speckner and Wunder made five steals.
Championship game
A tight, physical first quarter set the rhythm for the game, with Tongue River leading by one point, 7-6, as the second quarter commenced.
LFL overtook Tongue River in the second quarter to capture the initiative, 23-19, at halftime. Wunder led the LFL offense in the second quarter with 10 points, including two outside shots.
The lead rebounded back and forth across the court in the fourth quarter. Tongue River tied the game at 23 points before Wunder responded with a close-range shot.
Wunder drained a 3-pointer and LFL remained ahead, 28-26. Defensive pressure by Shipp resulted in a turnover. Wunder tossed in a free throw and Natalie Speckner scooped up a steal.
Taking possession, Shipp netted a jumper. Natalie Speckner snagged a steal and made a block. A close-range shot from Rising maintained LFL’s advantage, 33-30.
Tongue River replied with a 4-point run to edge up, 34-33, as the fourth quarter began.
The Lady Eagles managed to outscore LFL, 12-10, in the decisive final eight minutes of regulation.
Wunder dominated the scoreboard against Tongue River with 25 points. Natalie Speckner filled out the stat sheet with 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
