CASPER — After a pair of upsets in the 1-A regional basketball tournament left the Guernsey-Sunrise Lady Vikings flying high, they quickly found themselves back in the real world on Thursday evening as they faced the Lady Panthers from Cokeville in the Events Center.
A team that has missed only two state tournaments since 2000, the Lady Panthers took command of the game from the start, building a 30-12 lead by half and turned it into a 30-point win, 56-26.
Whitney Martin led the Viking effort with nine points, six rebounds and a steal.
Krista Malcom finished with five points, all from the free-throw line. She also had three rebounds and four steals.
Blake Rose put in four points and had two rebounds and two steals.
Trinity Ayers dropped in three points and had six rebounds.
Lakin Reichert also had three points and took down three rebounds and had four steals.
Kacey McCoid and Whitney Barnes each put in a free-throw; McCoid also had three rebounds.
Guernsey-Sunrise hit just 6-of-33 from two-point range and they missed all six of their three-point attempts. They shot 16-of-25 from the stripe. They cleared 33 rebounds (18 defensive), had 10 steals and committed 18 personal fouls and 31 turnovers.
Cokeville hit 28 of 43 from two-point range and two of eight from the arc. They hit 14-of-20 from the free-throw line, cleared 26 rebounds (26 defensive) and had 25 steals and five assists. They committed 22 personal fouls and 22 turnovers.
The loss sent the Lady Vikes to a loser-out game against Kaycee on Friday morning at Casper College.
With neither team able to hit the bucket, the Lady Vikes found themselves down by just four at the half and just six with just eight minutes to go. But Kaycee managed to get the upper hand in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Vikes 11-4 to get a 32-19 win.
Ayers hit eight points and had eight rebounds and one steal.
Reichert added four points and had nine rebounds.
McCoid finished with three points, three rebounds and a steal.
Martin was held to just a bucket and had 10 rebounds and four steals.
Bailey Martin and Rose each put in a free-throw. Martin took down a rebound and Rose had a pair of rebounds.
Guernsey-Sunrise hit 6-of-37 from two-point range and made one of seven from the arc. They sank 6-of-19 free-throws, took down 44 rebounds, committed 16 personal fouls and 25 turnovers.
Kaycee hit 14-of-53 from two-point range, and 2-of-8 from the arc. They made two of six free-throws, collected 38 rebounds, had 11 steals and seven assists, and committed 18 fouls and 16 turnovers.
The Lady Vikings finish the season with a 5-19 season overall. They will lose seniors Lakin Reichert and Whitney Barnes to graduation.
