Lady Mustangs win seventh grade consolation title

The Lovell seventh grade girls basketball team finished the 2023 season with a strong run at the Yellowstone Conference Tournament in Thermopolis on December 9, coach Collin McArthur reported last week.
The Lady Mustangs dropped their opener to Lander in overtime, then came back to claim the consolation championship with wins over Greybull and Worland.
The Lander game was a hard-fought battle, McArthur said.
“It was a little rough, and the girls weren’t ready for the allowed physicality,” he said. “Due to that, we weren’t making layups and let it get to our heads. If we’d made one more shot we wouldn’t have gone into overtime.”
Lovell led 13-10 at halftime and 17-16 after three quarters, but Lander edged Lovell 7-6 in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime tied 23-23. Lander outscored Lovell 6-3 in overtime to take the game, 29-26.
Gracie Angell, Morgan Harshman and Brynnlee Spanier led the Lady Mustangs with 5 points each, and Myles May and Daisy Carpenter added 4 points each, Kelsey Mangus 2 and Macie Anderson 1.
Greybull win
The Lady Mustangs bounced back to stop the Big Horn Conference champions, Greybull, 33-23 in the consolation semifinals. Greybull led 10-5 after the first quarter, but the Lady Mustangs dominated the rest of the game, outscoring Greybull 14-4 in the second quarter and 14-9 in the second half to win by 10.
“We started out slow, in part due to the overtime loss. They were upset over that game,” McArthur said. “We came out a little stagnant and allowed Greybull to take an early lead.
“Before the second quarter we had a little talk about not wanting to lose, playing with more energy and ending the season on a high note. Then at halftime we talked about finishing strong and having something to play for.”
Harshman led the team with 9 points, and Kendra Allen added 7, Anderson and May 4 each, Angell 3, Spanier, Kinzie Blain and Haven Hecker 2 apiece.
Consolation champs
Lovell clobbered Worland 45-16 in the consolation championship game, playing their best basketball of the tournament.
“I told the girls it was their last game so go out and have fun,” McArthur said. “I told them to come out like we’re the best team, and we came out and put 15 points on ‘em in the first quarter.”
Lovell led 15-4 after the first quarter and 29-7 at halftime, then cruised with a 16-9 edge in the second half.
Angell led a balanced attack with 11 points. Carpenter, May and Spanier added 6 points each, Anderson and Harshman 5 apiece and Allen, Mangus and Blain 2 each.
“We played as a team and got everyone involved,” McArthur said. “It was our best game of the tournament. We came out firing and finished strong. We continued to play.
“It was great to finish with two straight wins. The talent should be there next year (to win the title) if they work together.”