LINGLE – The Lingle-Fort Laramie High School girls’ basketball team split a weekend doubleheader with Crawford (Nebraska) and Guernsey-Sunrise.
On Friday, the Lady Doggers kept the Lady Rams close for much of the game, but when the final horn sounded, Crawford handed Lingle a 63-48 loss.
LFL sophomore Natalie Speckner drained the game’s first 3-pointer to put her team in front. However, Crawford scored the next four points and never trailed for the remainder of the contest.
The Lady Rams pushed their lead to nine points by the end of the third quarter, but Lady Dogger junior Ashlee Hattan cut the deficit to 44-39 two minutes into the fourth quarter.
It proved to be as close as LFL came for the remainder of the game.
“That was a little painful. We try our hardest. Our girls didn’t give up, and I’m proud of them for that,” LFL coach Susan Bartel said. “Overall, they played a pretty good game against a very hard team.”
Down the stretch, the Lady Doggers went into foul mode to extend the game, but Crawford was 22-of-34 from the free-throw line. They made free throws down the stretch allowing them to pull away for the 15-point victory.
“They didn’t miss their free throws and we didn’t hit. The game got a little further away than it had been the whole game,” Bartel said. “We have some learning to do and figuring out how to end a game like that, so we’ll be ready for the next one that ends like that.”
Hattan led the Lady Doggers with 20 points, while junior Kamryn Rafferty added 10. Speckner tossed in seven. Senior M’Lynn Hill grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
The next day, LFL rebounded with a dominating 69-18 win over the Guernsey-Sunrise Lady Vikings.
“I’m excited about how my girls played. I was able to get my whole team in and get them some good playing time,” Bartel said. “They all stepped up and had a good time playing.”
The Lady Doggers used a 20-2 run in the first quarter to take a 26-6 lead into the second quarter.
The home team’s lead only grew from there, as Lingle limited the Lady Vikings to three points before halftime.
LFL kicked in the running clock rule with 6:17 left in the third quarter as the lead continued to grow until the final horn.
Speckner led the Lady Doggers with 14 points, while junior Maddy Saul added 12. Sophomore Izzy Spears tossed in 10 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. In all, nine Lady Doggers netted at least four points in the win.
The Lady Doggers (5-4) played cross-county rival Southeast on Thursday evening but are back in action Friday at home against the Niobrara County Lady Tigers (1-7). Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
“It’ll be a tough weekend,” Bartel said.
