Lady Herder defense controls Thermopolis in 4th

Alyssa Collier

Alyssa Collier pounds the basketball down the court in the home game against Thermopolis Dec. 19. (Photo by Chase Vialpando/The Glenrock Independent)

By: 
Chase Vialpando & Cinthia Stimson

The Lady Herders faced a trio of back-to-back games, starting with an away loss Dec. 17 to the Moorcroft Lady Wolves before splitting home games Dec. 18-19 with a close loss to the Pine Bluffs Lady Hornets and relying on strong fourth-quarter defense  to keep the Thermopolis Lady Bobcats at bay.

Glenrock’s match against Moorcroft was simply a tough game. The Lady Wolves kept dropping it in from the line and racking up the points, finally winning 55-35 in a tough defeat for the Herd.

“In the Moorcroft game, we were only down by 11 points with about two minutes left. We had to start fouling to get the ball back and they happened to go perfect from the free-throw line. The girls played well but we had a stretch of five minutes on not-so-good basketball. Moorcroft is the number-one team in the state, and we battled with them. In the third quarter, we held them to one point,” coach Peter Fenster said.

Dec. 18 found the girls at home in Glenrock facing off in a conference game against Pine Bluffs, but the home court advantage just wasn’t enough. The Lady Herders fell 40-37.

“Pine Bluffs is one we let get away. We battled back from being down and kept fighting. We had some chances to close the game out but couldn’t make it happen. We had a shot at the end of the game to tie it and go into overtime but we missed it. We just keep getting better and better as a team and continue to grow. We are close as a team to breaking through and becoming a force to reckon with,” the coach said.

As it turned out, the third time was the lucky charm – the Glenrock girls refused to lose a third game over the weekend, winning Saturday’s non-conference game against Thermopolis 34-30.

“We did well on defense. We locked them down and played good defense so that’s why we won. The Thermopolis game was a very physical and intense game.

“We made another comeback in the fourth quarter but this time we kept the lead and won the game. We scored 17 points in the fourth quarter while only holding them to eight points.

“Adelaide Williams and Ann-Marie Young hit some big free throws for us in the fourth quarter. It’s the best I’ve seen them play since I’ve been in Glenrock. We still have a lot of improvements to make a team,” Fenster said.

Senior Abbi Cerny said she feels like she and her team played hard during the game against Thermopolis and really stepped up the game in the end.

At the end of the first quarter, Glenrock was up by one  at 7-6, only to see that slim margin evaporate in the second to end with Thermopolis ahead 10-14 and the third quarter 17-24. The Lady Herders exploded on offense in the fourth, taking the win 34-30.

“The last few years have been up and down. Definitely more down than up. But we’re looking better and improving,” the senior said.

Alyssa Collier, the other senior on the team, said the last three years have been rough for her team.

“We didn’t know how to win a game. This year, we got a new coach and we’re improving and actually winning. I feel like we’re becoming more of a team as the season goes on. We’re communicating better and playing better,” Collier said following Saturday’s game.

Collier and Cerny were honored during Glenrock High School’s Senior Night prior to the boys’ game at 4 p.m.

“These are my first-ever seniors. I’d like to thank them for all of their hard work. They are helping me lay the foundation for our program and our success from here on out is because they are leading this team in the right direction,” Fenster said.

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