SWEETWATER COUNTY — Green River High School and Rock Springs High School will open postseason play this week at the 4A West Regional tournament in Evanston.
The three-day tournament begins Thursday.
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Girls Bracket
Green River, the Northwest No. 1 seed, faces Southwest No. 4 Jackson Hole High School at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Rock Springs, the Northwest No. 4 seed, opens against Southwest No. 1 Star Valley High School at 9 a.m.
Other first-round games include Natrona County vs. Riverton at 10:30 a.m. and Evanston vs. Kelly Walsh at 5 p.m.
Green River coach Clinton Landon said his team enters regionals close to full strength after navigating injuries late in the season.
“As we head into the 4A West Regional Tournament in Evanston, I really like where we’re at from a health standpoint,” Landon said. “We’ve been a little banged up the last few weeks, but that was part of our plan — we held out a couple of key players down the stretch to make sure we’d be as close to 100% as possible for regionals.”
“I can’t say enough about the rest of our girls and how they responded. Because of their effort and toughness, we were able to finish the regular season undefeated in West quad play and cross-quad games, and extend our winning streak to 12 straight,” Landon said. “Some kids played heavy minutes and didn’t get a lot of breaks during that stretch, but they never complained, they just stepped up. That says a lot about our team culture.”
“Brooklyn, Natalie, and Elexes are all healthy and ready to go. It was great to see Elexes have such a strong performance against the Rock Springs Tigers last week — that was a big step forward. All three are feeling good, and we’re excited to have everyone back together.
“I also want to give a big shoutout to our stand-in athletic trainer, Nick Hastert. He has been outstanding. The time he’s put in with our girls, the treatment plans he’s developed, and the care he’s shown have made a huge difference. He deserves a lot of credit for getting us to this point.
“We’re excited for the opportunity in front of us and looking forward to the challenge of defending last year’s regional championship.”
Friday’s schedule includes elimination games at 9 and 10:30 a.m. and semifinals at 3:30 and 5 p.m. The championship game is set for 3 p.m. Saturday.
Boys Bracket
On the boys’ side, Green River, the Northwest No. 2 seed, meets Southwest No. 3 Evanston High School at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Rock Springs, the Northwest No. 4 seed, faces Southwest No. 1 Star Valley High School at 8 p.m.
Other opening games Thursday feature Riverton vs. Kelly Walsh at noon and Natrona County vs. Jackson at 1:30 p.m.
Green River coach Laurie Ivie said her team has developed an identity heading into postseason play.
“We are playing confident and connected basketball,” Ivie said. “We’ve embraced our identity of getting down and guarding, controlling the boards, and playing unselfish basketball. Our plan heading into regionals is to stay locked in on what we do best, no matter the opponent or the environment. When we play our brand of basketball, we believe we can compete with anyone.”
Friday’s boys elimination games are scheduled for noon and 1:30 p.m., with semifinals at 6:30 and 8 p.m. The championship game is set for 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
Rock Springs coaches were contacted for comment but did not respond before publication.
All Green River games will be broadcast on KUGR 104.9 FM, and all Rock Springs games will air on KZWB 97.9 FM. All games involving both schools will be streamed on SVInews.com.
