Girls fight in overtime thriller against Wright

After 32 action-packed minutes between the Glenrock and Wright high school girls basketball teams, it just wasn’t enough to decide a winner Feb. 7 in Campbell County. It took an extra three minutes and it still proved to be by the smallest of margins as the Panthers rallied to edge the Herders 69-67 in overtime.

The Herders led most of the close game where the largest lead of the night was just six points. The biggest basket of them all came from WHS junior Jocelyn Umiker who scored off an offensive rebound 27 seconds left in regulation to the game into overtime. 

Like most of night, Glenrock jumped ahead immediately in the extra minutes when Gracie Sixbey swished a three pointer to give her team an 62-59 edge. Not to be outdone, Wright answered with another three pointer by Anaeli Salas and free throws via Mya Hentch-Robb to make it a new game at 63-63 with 2:13 to go.

Glenrock went scoreless on its next possession which paved the way for Dani Barnhurst to hit a free throw and give WHS its first lead since the second period. Briana Meza turned GHS’ next mistake into points to extend the lead to 66-63.

The Herders ended their scoring drought with a free throw from Bailey Cornella and a jump shot via Sixbey to tie the game again at 66-66 with 40 seconds remaining.

That was the final goal of the night for Glenrock. Meza hit three of four shots from the charity stripe and help on as GHS fell short in its final three scoring chances.

The second half started just as close as it ended with Wright managing the first advantage at 6-3. The lead switched sides three times and the Herders took two of them when Sarvey put in an offensive rebound to make it 7-6 and Kiley Smith made it 11-9 with her first bucket.

Wright had the final say of the opening period with points delivered from Barnhurst, Meza and Umiker to grab a slim 16-14 edge after one.

The Panthers carried that momentum into the second stanza where they managed biggest lead all night. Salas hit her first of four treys and Hentch-Robb scored to make it 21-14.

Glenrock answered with three defensive stands which led to extra offensive looks. Those were converted into points with a three pointer by Smith from the corner and two offensive rebounds by Sarvey turned into points by Sarvey that tied the game at 24-25 with 2:30 left in the half. Meza best her defense for a lay up to reclaim the lead just before Smith and Sarvey scored consecutive baskets to give GHS a 29-27 halftime lead.

The Herders were able to carry that momentum into the early part of the third quarter. Cornella, Smith and Sarvey all scored and Caitilyn provided great defense to lead the team to its largest lead at 35-29 with 4:34 to go in the third.

Wright was far from done in fighting to the finish. Meza swished her first three pointer and Umiker knocked one down from in the paint to get within one at 35-34.

Glenrock’s half-court defense snuffed out the run just in time to push ahead again. Sixbey scored in a pass from Sarvey, Cornella hit a jumper and Sarvey  scored off another offensive rebound to grab a 45-37 lead going into the fourth period. 

The Panthers chipped away the deficit to be in position for the dramatic finish. First, they had to rally and did so with a running jump shot by Meza, two buckets courtesy of Umiker, turnovers forced by Tara Williams and Caroline Nolte and finally a deep three pointer by Salas to tie score at 55-55 and set the tone for the exciting finish.

“Our girls showed a ton of fight this weekend. Both games could have gone either way, and they battled to the final possession. What stood out most was how different players stepped up in key moments,” head coach Jim Sarvey said. “Bailey Cornella had a great game on Thursday, really making an impact on both ends of the floor, and Kiley Smith had a strong outing in Wright on Friday, giving us a big boost. We’re seeing growth across the board, especially with our younger players who are learning on the fly. Their composure and ability to adjust in-game are improving each time out. Defensively, we had some strong stretches, and our effort never wavered.”

Glenrock  42  Rawlins 45

A strong finish overshadowed a brutal offensive first half for the Herders at home against Rawlins Feb. 6. They trailed by 19 points in the third quarter only to run out of the late in a 45-42 setback. 

Glenrock couldn’t get anything to go its way offensively before intermission. The team trailed 14-4 after one period and 29-10 at halftime.

The Herders made a compete turnaround after the break and made an incredible rally. They scored a game-high 19 points in the third stanza to pull within 42-29 going into the fourth. 

Sixbey buried a jumper and Smith swished a three pointer from the corner to get within the three at 45-42 with 1:06 left to play.

No other points were scored. Both defenses with tenacious in the final 60 seconds and both groups missed free throws.

“As we enter the back half of conference play, we need to keep building on our toughness and execution. I’d like to see us continue playing with that same competitive edge but take another step in closing out tight games,” coach Sarvey said. “That means sharpening our decision-making in crucial moments, improving our rebounding consistency, and staying disciplined on defense. We’ve shown we can compete with anyone— now it’s about fine-tuning the details and keeping our confidence high.”