It’s always big to win state, but to win two years in a row is twice as special. I’m blessed to coach kids who are able to work so hard.”

Coach Jennifer Scheer

CASPER – The Southeast High School Lady Cyclones trailed the Cokeville Lady Panthers by six points, 19-13, at halftime for the title game of the 1A state championship in Casper on Saturday, March 8.

Southeast faced a decision – battle back for an opportunity at gold or give in. True to form, the Lady Cyclones dug deep and chose to fight.

“We came into the third quarter seeing we were down and knowing we needed to make a run,” senior Brooklyn Leithead said. “We all looked at each other and decided this was the quarter we needed to finish out this game right. We really encouraged each other to lock in and make sure we did what we needed to do.”

Southeast came prepared to counter Cokeville’s offense with its trademark scrappy defense.

“We knew Cokeville would go on runs,” junior Keana Llewellyn noted. “We just had to stop and play our defense and make them play our game.”

Sophomore Brylie Booth agreed.

“Our practices with coach (Jennifer) Scheer aren’t easy, but they prepare us for that moment when we are behind and we need to play lock-down defense to win,” Booth added.

Southeast launched its drive to turn the tables in the opening moments of the third quarter. Defensive pressure by Booth and senior Anna Hartman forced a turnover and junior Kaycee Kosmicki snapped up a steal.

The Lady Cyclones offense stepped up with a six-point run, anchored by four points from Hartman, a bucket by Llewellyn and two offensive rebounds from Hartman.

Kosmicki grabbed another steal, setting up Hartman to score again from inside the perimeter.

Hartman pulled down a defensive rebound and Kosmicki fired off a jumper, placing the Lady Cyclones ahead of Cokeville for the first time, 23-22.

Booth wrangled a steal and Kosmicki swished a deep 3-pointer. Defensive pressure by Booth resulted in another turnover and Hartman rounded out third-quarter scoring with an inside shot.

As the fourth quarter began, the Lady Cyclones had succeeded not only in making up a six-point deficit but pulling ahead by six, 28-22, in just eight minutes.

Hartman credited Southeast’s second-half rally on the team’s gritty defensive mentality.

“We beat on each other throughout practice, so we’re used to the physicality of a game,” Hartman explained. “With our conference teams and most of the teams on the east side, they play physical. Coming into this game, the physicality wasn’t something that was new for us.”

Clinching the title

The Lady Cyclones maintained their momentum into the fourth quarter, opening with a four-point run by Booth. 

Cokeville responded with six points to reduce Southeast’s lead to a single possession, 32-29, at 2:30 remaining in regulation. 

The teams took a timeout.

“Coach Scheer always tells us to never look in the mirror and say, ‘What if?’” sophomore Lyla Wernsman said. “Everyone realized it was now or never and we needed to put our work in now.”

Southeast took advantage of fouls by Cokeville with one free throw apiece by Booth, Llewellyn and Kosmicki while the Lady Cyclones defense shut out Cokeville for the remainder of the game.

“Going into the fourth quarter, we all knew the game was ours,” Llewellyn said. “We just had to keep playing our game and we could easily take the win.”

Kosmicki nailed the final free throw with seconds remaining on the clock and the Lady Cyclones led, 36-29. Llewellyn rebounded a missed shot on Cokeville’s final possession.

The final buzzer sounded – Southeast 36, Cokeville 29 – and the Lady Cyclones captured their second consecutive 1A title.

“It feels pretty great,” Kosmicki said moments after the win. “A two-peat is pretty cool. We didn’t think at the beginning of the year that it was going to turn out like this. We had our ups and our downs but we came out on top.”

The team gradually built up its confidence after some early setbacks, sophomore Rein Coulson said. 

“At the beginning (of the season), not everyone was rooting for us and we had some doubt in ourselves,” Coulson added. “But when we started practicing and coming together, we decided we could do this. We pushed through all of these hard games and practices to show everyone what we’re capable of.”

In the end, the Lady Cyclones embraced their dark horse identify.

“We came in (to state) as the underdogs and everybody underestimated us,” Booth said. “It was kind of fun – nobody really felt the need to scout us because they didn’t think we were going to beat them. We just came out to play our game and it feels amazing.”

Quarterfinals

Southeast squared off against Farson-Eden in the semifinals. The physical first half proved neck-and-neck with both teams tallying 13 points through the first and second quarters for a halftime deadlock at 13.

The Lady Cyclones offense shifted into high gear in the third quarter with a 13-4 run to place Southeast ahead, 26-17, at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

An ironclad Southeast defense held Farson to only six points for nearly the entire second half. 

Booth tallied double-digit scoring against Farson with 11 points. Kosmicki and Llewellyn both collected six points with four from Wernsman and two apiece by Coulson, Hartman and Leithead.

On the boards, Llewellyn pulled down eight rebounds and Booth six. Booth delivered two assists while Kosmicki, Booth and Hartman each grabbed one steal. 

Semifinals

Southeast advanced to the semifinals on Friday to take on another team from the western side of the state, the Burlington Huskies. 

Burlington won the first quarter by a single possession, 6-4.

The Lady Cyclones battled back in the second quarter to triple Burlington in scoring, 12-4 and Southeast led at halftime by a 16-10 margin.

The Lady Huskies responded with a 10-7 run in the third quarter, although Southeast remained ahead, 23-20, as the fourth quarter commenced.

A coordinated Lady Cyclones offense netted 11 points in the final eight minutes of regulation while a scrappy Southeast defense held Burlington to four points.

Seven Lady Cyclones contributed to the final points spread against Burlington, led by Booth with nine points. Leithead contributed eight points, Kosmicki six, Wernsman four, Hartman three and Coulson and Llewellyn each two.

Booth pulled down eight rebounds and Kosmicki seven. Llewellyn passed the ball for two assists while Leithead snapped up four steals.

Going for gold ñ a solid defense

The Lady Cyclones found themselves stepping onto the court against the Cokeville Lady Panthers in the final matchup for the state title.

Hartman opened the first quarter of the game with a steal. Leithead followed up with a close-range shot and Booth scored from the charity stripe.

Leithead found another opening in the perimeter to score before Cokeville pulled ahead by seven points to lead, 12-5, at the beginning of the second quarter.

Southeast tossed in eight points to seven by Cokeville in a close second quarter. Llewellyn paced the Lady Cyclones offense with four points while Hartman and Leithead each sank a bucket. On defense, Booth and Kosmicki forced turnovers in the second quarter with steals.

Cokeville led at halftime, 19-13.

The Lady Cyclones left it all on the court in an explosive third quarter comeback, topping Cokeville in scoring, 15-3. 

Hartman dominated the floor offensively with an eight-point run. Kosmicki drained a trey and a close-range shot while Llewellyn scored from inside the perimeter.

The scoreboard favored the Lady Cyclones, 28-22, at the end of the third quarter.

Booth kicked off the fourth quarter with a four-point run. 

Cokeville responded with six points to make it a one-possession game, 32-29, at 2:30.

Booth snagged a steal and Kosmicki netted a free throw. Leithead and Booth both pulled down a rebound and Booth took her turn to score from the charity stripe.

With less than 30 seconds remaining on the clock, Kosmicki swept in with a steal on Cokeville’s ensuing possession, setting Llewellyn up to toss in a free throw at 17 seconds.

Kosmicki pulled down a rebound on a missed shot by Cokeville and went on to score a free throw. 

Llewellyn rebounded Cokeville’s final attempt to score before the final buzzer and Southeast finished the game in possession.

Once again, defense proved crucial to the Lady Cyclone’s success against Cokeville. Southeast’s ability to ramp up the pressure against its opponents in intense, physical games where every rebound, shot, free throw and steal made a difference built the team’s momentum as the season progressed.

“Coach Scheer always says that if you play good defense, the offense will fall into place,” Leithead said. “That’s why defense wins championships. It’s a big focus for us in practice and in games. If we’re struggling on offense, we know we can fall back on our defense to help us out.”

The two point-for-point, physically demanding games between Southeast and Niobrara County were critical turning points in the season. On January 25, the Lady Cyclones defeated Niobrara County, 28-20, before falling to the Lady Tigers by a single possession, 32-29, on February 15.

“I feel like playing Lusk twice this season really helped us with that aspect because they play a similar defense to us with the physicality, beating and belting,” Leithead continued. 

The Lady Panthers quickly found they were unable to cope with Southeast’s defensive pressure.

“Most of the teams on the other side of the state are runner teams, so they’re not normally used to when a team actually starts being tough and beating on each other,” Llewellyn said. “On the east side, we’re more of a post defense team. We’re used to hitting each other and not taking any damage.”

Final words

The Lady Cyclones did a “tremendous job” sticking to the game plan against Cokeville, coach Scheer said.

“We came out a little nervous in the first half, but in the second half, responded with our aggressive style of basketball,” Scheer remarked.

The team doubled down on defense while improving its ability to win the game on the boards with offense rebounds. The second chances to score proved pivotal, Scheer noted.

“The kids played a tremendous game against Cokeville,” Scheer added. “They played hard every minute, every possession. The third quarter was Southeast basketball all the way. To see a turnaround like that in eight minutes is impressive.”

Overall, the Lady Cyclones played a “great” three days of basketball at the state tournament.

“It’s always big to win state, but to win two years in a row is twice as special,” Scheer remarked. “I’m blessed to coach kids who are able to work so hard. We gained a lot of momentum as a team late in the season and the Lady Cyclones really came together in these last three weeks. My motto is to be better every day. The girls did this at state, up to the very last second when the final horn sounded.”