GILLETTE – The Southeast High School girls’ basketball team went 3-0 en route to earning a top seed at this weekend’s Class 2A State Basketball Tournament in Casper.
The Lady Cyclones rolled to a pair of double-digit wins over the Sundance Lady Bulldogs and the Niobrara County Lady Tigers to reach Saturday evening’s championship contest with SEWAC foe Pine Bluffs.
On Thursday, the Lady Cyclones jumped out to a 10-4 lead after the first quarter of play en route to a 40-29 win over Sundance.
Over the next three quarters Southeast outscored the Lady Bulldogs 14-12, 4-2 and 12-11 to pull away for the 11-point victory.
Senior Ellie Schmitt led the team with 11 points, while senior Kaylee Wilson added seven points. Senior Kelci Schmick grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Schmitt tallied four steals, while senior Hailey Anderson dished out three assists.
In Friday’s semifinal game, the Lady Cyclones took down the Lady Tigers from Lusk, 45-30.
Southeast once again jumped out to an early lead.
This time the Lady Cyclones grabbed a 17-4 lead after the first quarter. Southeast extended its lead to 28-12 by halftime.
In the second half, Niobrara County and Southeast nearly played even with the Lady Tigers outscoring the top-seeded Lady Cyclones, 18-17.
Schmick led Southeast with 13 points, while junior Morgan Ekwall added eight points. Schmitt tossed in seven. Anderson and Schmitt grabbed seven rebounds each, while junior Kadra Clark handed out three assists. Schmitt tallied three steals.
Saturday’s championship game featured the top two teams from the Class 2A Southeast Quadrant between Southeast and Pine Bluffs.
The two teams split the regular season matchups, winning on their home courts.
Southeast grabbed an early lead and held off a late run by Pine Bluffs in a 44-39 victory.
The Lady Cyclones led 12-6 after the first quarter, pushing it to 23-15 at the break.
After the teams played to a draw in the third quarter, scoring 12 points each, the Lady Hornets chipped away at the deficit but came up five-points short.
Anderson led the Cyclones with 10 points and six rebounds, while Schmitt added nine points and six rebounds. Clark dished out three assists, while Anderson had two steals.
With the East Regional championship under their belts, the Lady Cyclones will be the top seed at this weekend’s Class 2A State Tournament in Casper.
The Lady Cyclones (16-6) will face Shoshoni (12-14) at 6 p.m. at Casper College.
