YODER – The non-conference game between the Southeast High School Lady Cyclones and the 2A Pine Bluffs Lady Hornets reached a 15-15 stalemate at halftime in Yoder on January 12. 

Pine Bluffs pulled ahead, 24-21, as the fourth quarter commenced.

Resolved to turn the tables, the Lady Cyclones took possession in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Hadley Leithead netted a deep 3-pointer, tying the game, 24-24.

Senior Sasha Haines rebounded a missed shot by Pine Bluffs. Taking the ball, senior Baylie Booth tossed in a deep outside shot, pulling the Lady Cyclones ahead, 27-24. 

Pine Bluffs’ attempt to score bounced off the rim and Haines grabbed another rebound. Hadley Leithead and Booth each scored from the free throw line. 

Haines found an opening in Pine Bluffs’ perimeter to score, topping off a decisive 10-point run for the Lady Cyclones and establishing a 31-24 lead.

Hadley Leithead broke through Pine Bluffs’ perimeter to score before the final buzzer sounded to tally two more points.

The Lady Cyclone offense tallied 12 points in the fourth quarter while a scrappy Southeast defense held Pine Bluffs to  three, paving the way for the Lady Cyclones to triumph, 33-26.

Southeast’s victory against the Lady Hornets followed a good old-fashioned rivalry game with Lingle-Fort Laramie (LFL) on Friday. The lead bounced back and forth over the course of four neck-and-neck quarters. LFL scored four points in the final minute of regulation to post the win, 30-26.

“We did not play Southeast type basketball on Thursday and made some adjustments on Friday and the kids responded really well,” head coach Jennifer Scheer said. “The kids played their style of game and with the defensive intensity that I asked for. We did what we needed to do to and gave Pine Bluffs enough headaches for us to stay in the game.”

Cross-county rivalry game

Junior Brooklyn Leithead kicked off scoring for Southeast in the first quarterwith a close-range shot. Haines rustled a steal and Hadley Leithead netted a jumper.

A second shot from inside the perimeter by Hadley Leithead placed the Lady Cyclones ahead, 6-2. Leithead converted an and-1, widening Southeast’s lead to two possessions, 9-5.

The Lady Doggers edged up in the second quarter to take the initiative by a single point, 12-11, at halftime.

As the third quarter began, senior Kylee Llewellyn snatched a steal, setting Booth up to net a jumper. Defensive pressure by Brooklyn Leithead, Haines, Booth and junior Anna Hartman resulted in turnovers.

Haines scored a close-range shot and Southeast recaptured the lead, 15-14. A jumper by sophomore Kaycee Kosmicki maintained Southeast’s advantage, 17-16.

LFL tied the game with a free throw. Booth responded by going 2-for-2 at the charity stripe. Kosmicki forced a turnover and Southeast found itself ahead, 19-17, at the end of the third quarter.

LFL led briefly in the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer. Booth answered with a close-range shot. Brooklyn Leithead made a steal and scored from the free-throw line. Kosmicki netted a layup and Southeast led, 24-21.

Brooklyn Leithead tossed in a close-range shot, and the Lady Cyclones remained ahead, 26-23. The Lady Doggers scored four points from the charity stripe in the last 58 minutes of the game to prevail.