By Don Cogger

Gazette Sports Editor

Looking for a signature win for its 2024-25 campaign, the Kemmerer High School girls’ basketball team finally found it Saturday, upsetting No. 4-ranked Thermopolis 44-35 at Rangers Gymnasium.

The win snapped a six-game losing skid that began back in mid-January, and has the Lady Rangers (5-13, 0-3 in 2A Southwest) playing with confidence as they approach their second trip through the 2A Southwest Quadrant, beginning this weekend against Wind River and Wyoming Indian.

“We actually beat Thermopolis in the Flaming Gorge Tournament earlier this year – we beat them by nine then. So they come over to our place, they’re ranked No. 4 in the state, probably still will be. But we match up well with them. They’re a pretty physical team, decent size. They like to shoot outside and inside.They’re pretty balanced. I think our defense has allowed us to stay in a few games, especially the last week and a half. But this was a big win for us, because we hadn’t won since our tournament back at the start of January –  we’ve been in and out of several games since then, but just have not been able to get that win. So that was huge for our girls to be able to feel like we’re a good team and beat them and really never trail after the first quarter. So, yeah, we’re starting to play a little bit better right now.”

It was a back-and-forth battle from the jump, with the Lady Rangers holding a slim 12-11 lead after a quarter of play. Kemmerer was able to create a bit of separation in the second, and led 26-19 at the break.

Both teams came out for the second half ready to play, with the Lady Rangers outpointing Thermop 10-8 in the third. With a 36-27 lead heading into the final frame, Kemmerer played the Lady Bobcats (9-9, 2-1 in 2A Northwest) to an 8-8 stalemate over the final eight minutes, sending the visitors back to Hot Springs County with a 44-35 loss.

Thatcher credited a balance attack as the difference in the contest.

“Teams are really focused on Janae Skidmore, and trying to take her out,” he explained. “She does a great job getting her points anyway – she had 10 against Thermopolis. What really happened with Thermopolis is we had other girls step in and fill that void when she gets double and triple teamed. Janae had her 10 points, but Cambree Tolhurst was our leading scorer. We took good shots – we were much more patient in our offense than we’ve been in the last several weeks. And even in the last couple of years, we usually like to hurry to get a shot up, because we just get antsy. But we were really taking our time, and just waiting for the shot that we wanted.”

Tolhurst paced the Lady Rangers with 11 points – to go along with eight rebounds – followed by Skidmore and Ella Thatcher with 10 points apiece; Thatcher just missed a double-double, grabbing nine rebounds, and led the team in assists, with four. Hadlee Wood finished with five points, while Natasha Martinez and Nataly Ruvalcaba closed out the scoring with four points each.

It’s a busy week for the Lady Rangers, who will be in Shoshoni Tuesday for a makeup game, then will continue 2A Southwest Quadrant play Friday at home against Wind River (9-9, 1-3 in 2A SW) and Saturday against Wyoming Indian (14-6, 4-0 in 2A SW). Those will be the final two home games of the regular season for Kemmerer.

“It’s two big games for us, but the girls are feeling pretty good,” Thatcher said. “We’re kind of hitting our stride right now. I think the girls feel pretty good about where they’re at. If we stay consistent, I think we’ll be pretty competitive come regionals.”

Rangers fall to No. 1 Thermopolis at home, 58-36

The Kemmerer High School boys’ hoops team hosted Thermopolis Saturday, and the Bobcats (15-3, 3-0 in 2A Northwest) lived up to their No. 1 ranking, returning to Hot springs county with a 58-36 win.

“We knew with them coming in No. 1, they were going to be a tough team,” said KHS head coach Matt Stewart. “I thought we actually probably played one of our better games we’ve played recently, as far as the team aspect. We didn’t shoot the ball necessarily well, and I think that was ultimately what hurt us. I think we were 12-of-52 from the field. So yeah, that kind of hurt. It’s hard to win games when you can’t score the basketball.”

The Bobcats started fast, jumping out to a 20-9 lead in the first quarter, and extending that lead to 38-21 by the break.

The Rangers (5-13, 1-2 in 2A Southwest) were able to slow Thermop’s offense in the second half, though points of their own continued to be hard to come by, as the Bobcats returned home with the 58-36 win.

“I thought defensively we did pretty well,” Stewart said. “They’re averaging close to 78 points a game, and we were able to keep them to 58. In that aspect, we’ve come a long way defensively. We’ve still got a lot of room to grow, but I think, overall, a good effort from the guys.”

The Rangers shot an anemic 28.3% from the floor, compared to 42.3% for Thermopolis. The Bobcats won a close battle of the boards 34-32.

Bryson McGill paced the Rangers with 15 points, and just missed a double-double, pulling down nine rebounds.

“Bryson has come along really well over the last month or so,” Stewart said. “He’s led us in scoring just about every game since the first part of January. Scoring and rebounding, he’s been getting it done. He’s actually been staying out of foul trouble. Early on, he was four or five fouls a game. I think over the last two or three weeks, he’s only getting one or two. So he’s given us some great effort in doing everything we asked of him.”

Cage Bowen and Gabe Wiswell finished with seven points apiece, while Ethyn Perkins added five points. Bennett Pollard closed out the scoring with two points.

The Rangers have a busy week ahead, starting with a makeup game Tuesday with Shoshoni, followed by a pair of home games this weekend against Wind River (0-18, 0-4 in 2A SW) and Wyoming Indian (14-6, 4-0 in 2A SW).