ROCK SPRINGS — Western Wyoming Community College opened the Region 9 Women’s Basketball Tournament with a win before falling in a double-overtime semifinal, ending the Lady Mustangs’ run on their home floor.

Western hosted the tournament after winning the Region 9 North regular-season title and received a first-round bye, giving the Lady Mustangs nearly a week off while other teams competed to advance to Rock Springs for the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinal: Western 65, McCook 60

Western returned to action Thursday night with a 65-60 win over McCook Community College. McCook defeated Casper College, the reigning back-to-back Region 9 champions, in the first round to advance to the quarterfinals.

The Lady Mustangs led 18-13 after the first quarter, but McCook responded in the second. The Lady Indians rallied to take a 34-33 lead into halftime. Western regained control in the third quarter, scoring 17 points while holding McCook to eight to take a 50-42 lead heading into the final period. McCook cut into the lead late, but Western pushed ahead 65-57 before the Lady Indians hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to set the final margin at 65-60.

Maia Rhay led Western with 16 points, scoring in all four quarters. She added a 3-pointer and went 7 for 8 at the free-throw line. Cami King finished with 12 points and knocked down four 3-pointers, hitting one in each quarter. Peata Manumaleuga also scored in every quarter and finished with 15 points, including one 3-pointer, while going 2 for 2 at the free-throw line. Western shot 11 for 12 at the line as a team, while McCook finished 5 for 6.

Laia Izquierdo Altimira led all scorers with 19 points for McCook, including 16 in the first half.

The win advanced Western to the semifinals against Gillette College.

Semifinal: Gillette College 82, Western 80 (2OT)

Western’s tournament run ended Friday night in a 82-80 double-overtime loss to Gillette in the semifinals.

The Lady Mustangs led 15-12 after the first quarter and carried a 32-26 advantage into halftime. Both teams erupted offensively in the third quarter, with Western scoring 28 points and Gillette adding 24. The Mustangs entered the fourth quarter with a 60-50 lead. Gillette made a key defensive adjustment in the fourth, switching from a zone to a man defense. The change helped the Lady Pronghorns hold Western to eight points in the quarter while scoring 18 to tie the game and force overtime.

The first overtime was back and forth, and Gillette had a chance to win at the buzzer but missed, sending the game to a second overtime. In the second overtime, Gillette took a two-point lead with seven seconds remaining. Western called a timeout and advanced the ball to its side of the floor.

After the timeout, the Mustangs fed sophomore forward Austyn Feller, who slipped behind the defense and got off a shot at the rim. The ball rolled around the rim as time expired before falling away, sealing the 82-80 win for Gillette.

Western shot 30 of 76 from the field for 39.5 percent, though the Mustangs were more efficient in the second half at 51.9 percent. Western made 9 of 22 from 3-point range but went 0 for 3 from deep in overtime. The Lady Pronghorns shot 62.5% from the field in the second half and were 32 of 64 for the full game at an even 50%. They were also dangerous from three with eight makes on 18 shots for 44.4%, and they were 10 of 13 at the line for 76.9%.

The Lady Mustangs again shot well from the free-throw line, finishing 11 for 12. Gillette recorded 37 defensive stops compared to 23 for Western. The Mustangs were also outrebounded 43-36.

Rhay led all scorers with 25 points, going 7 of 18 from the field, 4 of 7 from 3-point range and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line while adding four rebounds. Feller scored 20 points on 10 of 22 shooting. Amanda Baumgarte added 13 points and six rebounds, while Makaydi Jenks finished with 11 points. Western recorded two assists, three forced turnovers and three steals according to statistics provided by Western.

Kiyarra Williams led Gillette with 21 points. Rochelle Afo-Manuma added 18 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

Gillette advanced to face Northwest College in the championship game Saturday at 3 p.m.