Both Wyoming Teams Fall Short to Montana in Sheridan

The Wyoming All-Stars came close to ending losing streaks to Montana on Friday night, but both lost to the Treasure State in Sheridan.

The girls fell 55-52, while the boys suffered a 109-105 defeat.

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Girls

Lindsey Hein made a basket with under 40 seconds left to lift the Montana girls to a three-point win over Wyoming on Friday night.

Gracee Lekvold's two free throws with nine seconds remaining iced it, as Montana won its eighth straight game in the series.

Wyoming led 52-48 with 2:15 left but failed to score after that. A couple of turnovers, a jump ball, and two missed free throws in the last two minutes contributed to the loss.

Allyson Fertig scored 15 points, while Gabby Drube had 13 for Wyoming. They were only 12-23 at the foul line in the game.

Montana was led by Aspen Giese with 15 points. She scored 13 of those in the third quarter. Hein added 13 points, while Lekvold contributed 12 points. The Treasure State was 9-10 at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.

It was a low-scoring game in the first half. Montana led 16-9 at the end of the first quarter and 25-17 at the break. Both teams picked up the scoring in the third with 17 points apiece. It was 42-34, Montana, entering the final quarter.

Boys

Montana's great free-throw shooting carried the Treasure State past the Cowboy State by four points on Friday in Sheridan.

Montana went 36-40 at the charity stripe en route to their 17th consecutive victory in the series.

Sam Lecholat's 3-pointer with under 10 seconds left was no good. Montana secured the rebound and closed it out with two free throws.

Missoula Sentinel teammates Alex Germer and Tony Frohlich-Fair led Montana with 25 and 23 points, respectively. Drew Wyman added 18 points. Montana also had eight dunks in the game.

Luke Hladky scored 22 points to pace Team Wyoming. Jefferson Neary finished with 16, Dalton Peterson scored 15, Lecholat added 14, and Bryan St. Clair chipped in 13. Wyoming made a single-game record of 17 3-pointers in the contest. They went 20-26 at the free-throw line.

The Cowboy State jumped out to a 17-10 lead early and led 23-21 after the first period. Montana exploded for 35 points in the second and held a 56-50 lead at halftime. The Treasure State extended its lead in the third to double-figures, but Wyoming fought back. They tied it at 102-102 on a pair of Neary free throws with 1:11 left. A turnover with 45 seconds remaining proved to be critical for Wyoming in the loss.

Wyoming hasn't won in the boys' series since June 11, 2011.

The two states rematch on Saturday at Lockwood High School in Montana, which is just outside Billings. The girls' game starts at 5:30 p.m. with the boys to follow at 7:30 p.m.