CASPER — The Cokeville Lady Panthers traveled to Casper for the three-day 1A State Basketball Tournament, March 6-8. They were in high hopes of achieving their goal to be state champions. They began their quest on Thursday morning, competing against the Tigers of Niobrara County.

They dominated the first and fourth quarters, outscoring the Tigers 39-8, and got the huge first-round win, 65-26.

Addison Barnes had a gigantic 27 points to lead the Lady Panther scoring. Barnes also had 7 boards and 2 steals. Rachel Thomas had 11 points, and Madi Dayton had 9 to round out the top scorers. Mia Dayton had 5 rebounds and 4 assists, and Madi Dayton also pulled down 5 rebounds.

This win advanced the Lady Panthers to the semifinal game against the Lady Rebels of Riverside. The Lady Panthers consistently outscored the Lady Rebels in each quarter to get the win, 39-31.

Mia Dayton led the Lady Panthers in scoring with 14 points and added 5 steals. Barnes led the boards with 10 rebounds. Thomas had 5 steals, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Madi Dayton had 6 rebounds and Bailey Bird had 5.

The Lady Panthers were thrilled to be in the championship game against the Lady Cyclones of Southeast. They had a great first half, up 19-13 at the break. The Lady Cyclones regrouped and shut down the Lady Panther offense in the third quarter and stole the win from the Lady Panthers, 29-36. Barnes had 9 points and Thomas had 7. Mia had 6 rebounds. Barnes had 5 rebounds and 6 steals.

The boys also traveled to Casper for the state tournament, setting their sights on bringing home a state title. The first round they found themselves up against the Niobrara County Tigers, the runner-up team in the 2A State title the previous year. Both teams came out a little slow in the first half, but the Panthers had the small lead going into the half, 22-17.

The Tigers owned the second half and defeated the Panthers, 53-39. Justin Moyes had 13 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Ammon Hatch and Kalob Haderlie had 5 rebounds each. Hatch also had 4 assists. Kayson Walker had 5 steals and 4 rebounds. This loss dropped the Panthers into the consolation semis against a familiar foe, the Huskies of Burlington.

The winner would advance to the consolation finals, the loser would go home early.

The Panthers regrouped and came out determined to get the victory. It was the second quarter that really made the difference, as the Panthers put up 49 of their 64 total points in the game for the huge win, 64-49.

Moyes had 19 points. Dash Nate was hot from the 3-point line, adding 11 more to the Panther scoreboard. Blaze Plowman had 4 rebounds and Hatch had 6 assists and 7 steals. The Panthers advanced to the consolation game against the Tigers of Encampment, who they had beaten twice during the season.

It wasn’t a very high scoring game, but the Panthers were able to get the win and the hardware with a 39-29 victory. Moyes had 16 points and 7 rebounds. Joey Thomas came in off the bench to get the Panthers 7 more points and Hatch had 5 assists.