The Flack Friday drought is over. Maybe you wished it wasn’t. Regardless, this weekly column will be back for the remainder of the high school sports season, potentially longer.
I’ll keep my welcome back party short and I’ll ask you to hold your applause until the end of the column. Thank you again for your readership, not only of this column, but for all of our content here at SweetwaterNOW.
Sharp Shooters
If you’ve watched any girl’s high school basketball this season in Sweetwater County, consider yourself blessed. This year has been an entertaining season for both the Green River Lady Wolves and Rock Springs Lady Tigers basketball teams. Both teams are competitive, aggressive and hungry to win.
Recently, the two schools went head-to-head for the first time this year and it was the Lady Wolves who took home the rivalry victory in a close game that came down to the final shot. We know that these teams will face each other again at least one final time on Feb. 27 (my birthday) in Green River.
The Lady Wolves currently sit on top of the 4A West Conference with the best overall record along with an undefeated record in conference play.
On the latest Wyo Preps statistics, Green River holds the best team shooting percentage at 42.6 percent. Throughout the season I’ve taken notice to the Lady Wolves’ shooting abilities, something that head coach Rick Carroll told me was a strength of his team before the season began. In every game I’ve attended this year, I’ve often questioned how the Lady Wolves’ have created such a sharp shooting bunch.
Talent, yes. There’s no question that Green River’s offense is a well oiled machine and has capable players that create open looks. Those are all factors that have helped them get where they are at. But upon further discovery, the ladies you watch on the court are doing much more than meets the eye.
Madelyn Heiser gave me insight into why she believes her team has performed at such a high level when shooting the ball.
According to Heiser, there’s a group of girls that begin their day differently. These girls shoot around early in the morning every day of the week. This isn’t practice we’re talking about, this is their free time. I’m not certain how many other teams are doing this, but the point is that Green River has proven themselves to be one of the best teams in the state because they have gone above and beyond to be the best. The Lady Wolves understand accountability and that’s why they have the best shooting percentage in the entire state. These girls approach, prepare and execute the game at a different level. That’s what has set them apart.
And as a side note, if you’re interested, the Lady Wolves also are the top rebounding team in the state, averaging 36.5 boards a game.
On Friday night, the Lady Wolves will host visiting Riverton in a top 4A West matchup. Riverton has a 12-5 overall record on the season. If you want to catch some fantastic basketball action, I’d suggest you check out this game.
I know I’ll have a better appreciation for the hard work these girls put in every day behind the scenes and I hope you will too.
Brayden is a sports and community reporter for SweetwaterNOW. You can submit comments, questions or ideas regarding Sweetwater County sports to brayden@sweetwaternow.com.
