State Basketball Recap
By: Noah Capelli
Bronc and Fillie basketball wrapped up this past weekend at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, and both teams finished with outstanding seasons.
For the Fillies, they easily handled both Buffalo and Torrington in the first two rounds of the state tournament, cruising to a championship appearance. In the championship game, they faced Douglas, who came into the game having won six consecutive state championships. The action began right at the opening tip as Sydney Simone hit a quick three pointer to give Cody a 3-0 lead. For Douglas, senior Lauren Olsen followed up Simone’s make with a three pointer of her own, and she didn’t take her foot off the gas for the rest of the game. It was a back and forth contest until late in the third quarter, when Douglas pulled ahead by nine points, leading 41-32. But as Matt McFadden would say, “games are won or lost in the fourth quarter.” This proved to be true as in the final minutes the Fillies rallied to come within three points. After a Douglas turnover, Sydney Simone hit another three pointer to tie the game. In the final moments of the game, Lauren Olsen attempted a long three pointer and was fouled on the shot. A few free throws later, the buzzer sounded and the Douglas girls took home their seventh straight state championship, knocking off the Fillies by a score of 58-55. Simone led the team with 18 points, followed by Grace Hays and Ellie Talich who had 14 and 13 points.
It was the Fillies’ first season in the 3A division and it was definitely a successful one, as they finished 22-5. They graduate just one senior and will definitely return to the big game next year.
Like the girls, the Broncs also faced Buffalo and Torrington in the first two rounds. They cruised to easy wins in both games and made their first state championship appearance since 2017. It seemed like all year long all roads were going to come back to Cody and Lovell for the championship game, and that’s exactly what happened. This would be the fourth time the two faced off this year. Earlier in the season, Lovell downed Cody in Lovell, but the Broncs got revenge a few weeks later on their home court. At regionals in Lander, Lovell once again knocked off the Broncs and entered the state tournament as the number one seed in the west conference. The state game was a big one, as Cody and Lovell are separated by just 54 miles. Similar to the Fillies, this game was back and forth for all four quarters. Any time either team would hit a big shot, the other followed it up with one just as impressive. In the final minutes of the game, the Broncs needed a big shot to tie it up, but a technical foul was called, giving Lovell multiple free throws to put themselves ahead by four. Cody couldn’t get the ball back after that and fell to the Bulldogs 44-40. Yet again, Grady McCarten led the team in scoring with 12 points, and Maddax Ball also broke into the double digits with 11.
Although it wasn’t the outcome they wanted, this was a monumental improvement for the Broncs as they had a losing record last year. They wrap up their first year in 3A with a respectable record of 21-6. It will be interesting to see how the team performs next year, as four out of five of the starters in the state game were seniors.
In the end, both the Broncs and Fillies took home second place at the state tournament. It was some of the most successful years of basketball in the school’s history and even though they didn’t bring home the championship, all the players should walk with their head held high for what they accomplished on the court this year.