ROCK SPRINGS – So many times high school basketball fans have heard the saying games in December do not matter. On Friday, the Rock Springs Lady Tigers showed why they are important.
The Lady Tigers learned about overcoming adversity and what it takes to comeback against a senior squad late. With under a minute left, the Lady Tigers trailed and were struggling to make shots. While most teams would have hung their heads, Rock Springs continued to dig. A Makylee Buell three with under 20 seconds left proved to be the difference.
With three minutes in the game, Lyman took a four-point lead. The Lady Tigers had solid looks but the shots would not fall. The freshman Buell broke the ice as a three pulled Rock Springs within one but Lyman continued to hit its free throws keeping Rock Springs on the ropes.
With under a minute remaining, Selena Cudney sparked one final push. A Cudney bucket pulled Rock Springs within three and a Lady Tigers steal led to a Maggie Justinak layup on the other end to pull Rock Springs to one with 25 seconds left.
RSHS forced another Lyman turnover giving the ladies a final shot at the win. With 12 seconds left, Buell let the ball fly from behind the three-point line. With ice water in her veins, she would knock down the shot giving the Lady Tigers the lead. Rock Springs forced Lyman into a bad shot and Buell stepped to the line and iced the game, 52-49.
While Buell hit the shots at the end, Cudney was the spark plug. She scored nine points on the night but her 15 rebounds, many on the offensive end, were key. Justinak led the way for Rock Springs with 19 points.
Sarye Thomas, Justinak and Taylor Jenkins were strong to start the game. Thomas and Justinak had the ladies up one after one, 13-12. Jenkins and Cudney continued to push in the second quarter and Justinak had 11 in the half as the Lady Tigers led at the break, 25-21.
Cudney continued her strong board work to start the third quarter and a deep three by Justinak kept the Lady Eagles just out of reach after three, 39-34.
To start the fourth, Rock Springs went cold while Lyman heated up. They soon would take the lead setting up the dramatic Lady Tiger finish.
Rock Springs will look to keep it going on Saturday but it will not be easy. The ladies will close out the Flaming Gorge Classic with two games against ranked 3A squads. They will face second-ranked Star Valley at 10 a.m. and will close out the day with third-ranked Rawlins at 3:10 p.m.
Rock Springs High School
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