After a tough loss to another highly ranked opponent, the Laramie Lady Plainsmen sent their six seniors out on a high note. They split the last two regular season games.

Last Friday night, fourth-ranked Laramie lost at No. 2 Cheyenne East, 58-37.

The Thunderbirds controlled the second and third quarters of play, as they built a 27 point lead. Senior Katie Loken scored 10 of her game-high 18 points in the second. That helped East extend a 14-5 lead to 35-15 by halftime. Laramie was held to just seven in the third, as the Thunderbirds pushed it to 49-22. The Lady Plainsmen out-scored East 15-9 in the final period, but it was too late.

Lady Plainsmen head coach Laura Pollard said she didn’t think they were ready.

“I don’t know what it is. Defensively we were doing fine, but we weren’t boxing out… We just were all over the place.”

Jennifer Aadland had 10 points to lead LHS. They were held to 25 percent shooting and were out-rebounded 48-29 by East.

Laramie had a short memory, as they overcame a sluggish first half with a big third quarter in their 45-42 win over Cheyenne Central on Saturday.

The Lady Plainsmen were down by three, 18-15, at halftime. That deficit grew to five early in the second half. That’s when Laramie turned up the pressure and went on a 23-7 run. It turned a 22-17 Central lead into a 40-29 Lady Plainsmen lead.

Central didn’t go quietly. The Indians made a furious rally, but four late free throws by Aadland kept Laramie in front for the three-point victory.

Pollard said, “I have to respect Central. They came in with a great game-plan. They haven’t pick-and-rolled like that all season. They did something different, and luckily it didn’t shake us up. We handled the defense real well, but of course, we weren’t scoring on the other end.”

Pollard said the key to the third quarter was a change in press at halftime.

“In the second half we pulled (out) our zone press, and I think that was a tempo changer.”

Lexi Pulley led LHS with 12 points, while Aadland had 10 points and seven rebounds. Laramie shot 33 percent from the field, but a big key was 11-13, 85 percent, at the free throw line.

Central shot 38 percent for the game, but they were only 7-15 at the foul line. They were led by Abby Fearneyhough with 10 points.

The six Lady Plainsmen seniors that were honored before the game are Morgan Bury, Caitlyn Cox, Eliza Dickinson, Olivia Dorrell, Bridgette Johnson and Kade Setright.

Laramie concluded the regular season with a 15-6 overall record. They went 6-4 and took third place in the 4A East Conference. LHS will be the third seed at the regional tournament and will play Cheyenne South Thursday in Gillette at 7 p.m.

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