Lady Tigers notch first win; drop one to Hayden

The Rawlins Outlaws came to Encampment (1-6), (0-2) last Tuesday night and the Lady Tigers turned their season around with a strong 44-32 win. Although the Tigers are still working kinks out of their game plan, the team has started to mesh. Every player contributed to the success on Tuesday.

Head coach Amy Clay said, “They are all working hard and doing what I ask.”

That hard work paid off. Encampment pulled off their first win of the 2012-2013 season. The Lady tigers passed the ball around the floor and found open shots all night. The girls had a different fire in this game and it was apparent they had worked on ball control in practice.

“We were working hard at passing the ball around and getting everybody involved,” Clay said. “These young girls are really catching on and I’m impressed with our team work.”

The Lady Tigers held the lead the whole match and it was apparent they were firing on all cylinders and dominating the Outlaws. With less than two seconds left in the first, Freshman Alyssa Barkhurst came up with a huge block under the Outlaw rim. The Tigers went into the locker room with a commanding 27-15 lead.

Coming out of the locker room after half, the Lady Tigers have had some trouble staying focused. Coach Clay, last week, called it a case of the third quarter jinx. That wasn’t the case this game and moving through that hurdle definately showed.

“We were even in the third this go around,” Clay said. “I tell the girls to relax, but it’s almost like they relax too much. We’re going to keep working on it. Last week we got beat 4-14 in the third, this week we played them even at 10-10. That works for me.”

The girls all contributed, and more passing got more hands on the ball. Alyssa Barkhurst had a huge game again, finishing with 16 points, six steals and six assists. Her teammates backed the effort with Cassidy Little leading the scoring with 18 of her own. Taylor Pedersen had eight and freshman Shawneka Sifford scored 2 points in her contribution to the win.

On the defensive side of the ball, number four Michelle Hooker was all over the Outlaws like a shadow, and made it very difficult for Rawlins to get plays set up in some key points in the second half.

Although Michelle Hooker had some shots on offensive, nothing fell for the junior. Number 21, Jennifer Morgan was a force under the rim. Morgan blocked nine shots and came up with six rebounds to silence the Outlaws.

The next game found The Lady Tigers on the road in Hayden, Colo. last Saturday in a close game, but one the Tigers dropped 34-39.

Clay said, “The girls came out strong in this game and fought hard from the jump to the final buzzer.”

Cassidy Little, Barkhurst and Morgan all were in double digits in rebounding against Hayden. Little had 12, Barkhurst had 15 and Morgan came up with 10 of her own.

“They had the best rebounding game of the year with 40 team rebounds,” coach Clay said.

Unfortunately, that rebounding effort wasn’t enough to get the Lady Tigers in the win column at the final buzzer.

“We outscored them in the second half 22-20, including14-10 in the third quarter,” Clay said. “But, our shooting hurt us in this game, making 36 percent of our free throws and 27 percent of our field goals.

Each game presents a different challenge. I’m confident the girls will continue to work hard in practice and improve,” Clay said.

The next game for the Lady Tigers will be Thursday when Encampment hosts the Lady Panthers at 5 p.m.