March 15, 2012 I The Lovell Chronicle [ 19
SEASON REVIEW
wards said. "We took away their backside
help by keeping the floor spread."
WEEK 9
On the second to last weekend of the
regular season the Lady Bulldogs ham-
mered Riverside 62-30 at home Friday,
Feb. 10, then beat Class 3A Worland on
the road Saturday, 50-39.
Lovell smothered the Lady Rebels
on defense Friday at Winterholler Gym,
jumping passing lanes and getting their
hands on passes to force eight turnovers
in the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs
led 11-0 early and blew out the visitors
23-4 in the period as seven players con-
tributed to the scoring.
"We were sprinting from spot to spot,"
Edwards said. "We talked about it being
crucial for all five players to be hustling
in our pressures. We were able to convert
steals into transition baskets."
Lovell went on to lead 33-11 at half-
time, then outscored the visitors 29-19 in
the second half.
Ten players scored for the Lady Bull-
dogs, led by Erin Robertson's 11 points,
seven rebounds and five steals.
The Worland game was tied 26-26 at
halftime Saturday night, then Lovell out-
scored the home team 10-5 in the third
quarter and 14-8 in the fourth. Lovell
won by 11 points, 50-39, limiting Wor-
land to 13 second-half points.
"In the second half we did a much bet-
ter job contesting every shot," Edwards
said. "Alyssa did a great job in our full-
court pressures and in our half-court zone
(1-2-2), which frustrated their guards. We
didn't let them set up in their offense."
WEEK 10
Now 17-1, the Lady Bulldogs host-
ed the Rocky Mountain Lady Grizzlies
Thursday night, Feb. 16, then traveled to
Thermopolis for the regular season finale
Saturday:
Thursday on Senior Night, round two
of the annual Lovell-Rocky rivalry went to
the top-ranked Lovell Lady Bulldogs, as
the home team pulled away in the second
half to win 49-37.
The game was close throughout the
first half, and Lovell led 20-18 at intermis-
sion. The score remained close early in the
third quarter, tied at 22, but a long jump-
continued from page 18
er by Geiser launched a 12-2 run for the
Lady Bulldogs during which they forced a
number of turnovers and scored in transi-
tion.
Lovell led 34-24 after three, then
pulled away with a 15-4 run to lead 49-28
before Rocky heated up late, cutting the
final margin to 12, 49-37.
In Thermop Saturday night, the Lady
Bulldogs completed an undefeated con-
ference season with a 52-32 win over the
Thermopolis Lady Bobcats, playing a sol-
id, all-around game.
The Lady Bulldogs shut the Bob-
cats down with a smothering defense and
also were efficient offensively, hitting the
boards, scoring inside and also finding the
range from the outside.
"Defensively, we frustrated their
guards and forced a lot of turnovers," Ed-
wards said. "Alyssa, Leanne and Amanda
did a great job pressuring every pass and
every ball-handler."
REGIONAL TOURNAMENT
Heading into the 2A West Regional as
the number one seed at 8-0 in the confer-
ence, 19-1 overall, the Lady Bulldogs re-
ceived the shocking news on Monday that
standout senior Leanne Winterholler had
suffered an attack of appendicitis and had
to have her appendix removed on Monday.
That loss didn't seem to greatly affect
the deep Lady Bulldogs, who swept the tour-
nament Feb. 23-25, crushing Kemmerer in
the first round, 45-23, clobbering Wyoming
Indian in the semifinals, 57-44, and beating
Thermopolis for the regional title, 59-42.
Game one of the tournament was almost
over by the end of the first quarter Thurs-
day aiernoon in Riverton. By that time, de-
spite missing Winterholler, the Lady Bull-
dogs led the Kemmerer Lady Rangers 12-0.
Lovell extended the run to 18-0 in the
second quarter until Kemmerer broke the
ice for Kemmerer with 5:18 to go in the half.
The Lady Bulldogs went on to win 45-23.
"Chelsey (Ellis) came in and did a good
job filling in for Leanne," coach Chris Ed-
wards said. "A new lineup always takes
some getting used to."
Amanda Shumway led all scorers with
15 points, but eight other players got into
the scoring column for the Lady Bulldogs.
In the semifinals Friday evening, the
Lovell girls shot the ball well early, played
solid defense and gradually pulled away
from the Lady Chiefs, leading by 18 points
until a late Wyoming Indian rally pulled the
Lady Chiefs closer. Lovell never trailed in
the game.
"We controlled the game except for a
three-minute stretch in the fourth," Ed-
wards said.
Amanda Shumway finished with 19
points and 10 rebounds, Geiser 13 points,
six rebounds and four assists.
Shumway, Geiser and Robertson com-
bined for 41 points Saturday afternoon as
the Lovell Lady Bulldogs captured their
seventh Class 2A West Regional basket-
ball title with a 59-42 win over the Ther-
mopolis Lady Bobcats at the Riverton
High School Gym.
Using a 1-2-2 zone to combat Thermop
star Dana Bjorhus and using their size ad-
vantage inside, the Lady Bulldogs built a
12-7 lead after the first quarter and pulled
away in the second quarter, 17-10, to lead
29-17 at halftime. After the Lady Bulldogs
hurt the Bobcats inside early, Geiser got
hot from the outside in the second quarter
and drained three treys.
"They adjusted and started packing it
in inside, and Alyssa burned them," Ed-
wards said. "Sometimes it would go into
the post and be kicked back out as Ther-
mop crashed in."
Lovell outscored Thermop 30-25 in the
second half to cruise to the regional title
and improve to 22-1 on the season. Aman-
da Shumway finished with 15 points,
Geiser 14 points on five-of-seven shooting
and Robertson 12 points on six-of-eight
shooting.
STATE TOURNAMENT
As the defending state champions
and the West Regional champs, the Lady
Bulldogs might have heid a target on their
backs entering the state tournament, but
that target was surely made of Kevlar as
the top-ranked Lovell girls breezed to the
state title, defeating three opponents by
an average margin of 30 points per game.
Round one found the top-seeded
(West) Lady Bulldogs meeting the fourth
seed from the East, Lusk, at Casper Col-
lege. The Lovell girls pounded the Lady
Tigers 61-22 as Winterholler made a suc-
cessful return to the lineup after missing
the previous week, draining a three-point-
er on the first possession of the game.
Lovell outscored Lusk 51-12 through
the first three quarters, and Edwards
played his entire lineup in the fourth. The
Lady Bulldogs forced 28 turnovers in the
game.
"We felt with our pressure we could
get to them," Edwards said about a 37-8
first-half blitz. "We were able to create
some turnovers and convert those into
easy baskets."
The semifinals found Lovell meeting
always tough Tongue River at the Casper
Events Center Friday night. It was
Lovell's toughest test of the tournament,
but the Lady Bulldogs won easily, 45-26,
continuing to play strong defense.
Lovell led 15-3 after the first quarter,
but Tongue River made some adjustments
in the second and worked inside to out-
score the Lady Bulldogs 11-10. Coach Ed-
wards countered in the third, and Lovell
did a good job attacking the rim against
the Lady Eagle zone, outscoring TR 15-3
to lead 40-17 after three.
"The first three minutes are always
critical, and we came out and were more
aggressive offensively and made some
nice passes," Edwards said.
Tongue River finished the season 24-
4, with three of the four losses coming at
the hands of the Lady Bulldogs.
Thermopolis gave Lovell a battle in
the state title game Saturday night, lead-
ing 12-7 after the first quarter and 18-17
late in the half until Amanda Shumway
hit a follow shot and Geiser banked in a
three-pointer at the buzzer to put Lovell
up 22-18 at the half.
The second half was all Lovell. The
Lady Bulldogs didn't allow a basket in the
final 16 minutes as Thermop went 0-16
from the field. Lovell outscored Thermop-
olis 32-4 in the half, allowing just four free
throws, to win 54-22.
"On that stage it wasn't something we
even dreamed of happening in the second
half of a championship game," Edwards
said.
The Lady Bulldogs finished their sea-
son 25-1, losing only to Class 3A Cody on
the road, and winning the last !6 games
in arow. The team was 22-0 against Class
2A teams this season, 2-1 against Class
3A (Powell, W0rland and Cody) and 1-0
against Class 1A (Burlington).
Deaver • 664-2551
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Way to go, girls!
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• :: : ...............
LOVELL DRUG
..---" 164 E. MAIN, LOVELL
.-.,,, 548-7231
WOULD LIKE TO
CONGRATULATE
THE LADY
BULLDOGS!
YOU MADE US" PROUD!
Way to go,
ladies!!
Repeat state champions!
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Congratulations to the
2012
Lady Bulldog
It's a slam ( unk!
Jl
Congratulations on your /
Back to Back I
State Championships!
II
ovell Building Center
143 E' Main" L°veslIWY231
