By Josh Hall

Herald Sports Editor

Jessica Moretti believes her team is playing some of its best basketball of the season.

But the Mountain View girls’ head coach also believes the best is yet to come for the Lady Buffalos. 

“Coming into the season, we had a young team with not much varsity experience,” Moretti said on Sunday. “That’s what has been fun to watch – how much improvement we’ve made and how much we’ve learned.”

On its two-game road trip this weekend, Mountain View claimed a 44-33 win against No. 3 Powell on Friday before handing Cody a 48-37 loss on Saturday. 

“They were big wins,” Moretti said. “It’s a long road trip and it’s always a tough one. There have been times in past years to go up there and split games. That wasn’t our plan this time. Our plan was to go up there and win both games.”

The Lady Buffalos are now 13-4 on the season and 1-2 in the 3A West-South Quadrant Conference. Mountain View lost conference games to No. 2 Lyman (16-1, 3-0) and No. 5 Star Valley (8-8, 2-1). The Lady Buffalos also lost to Class 4A teams Evanston and Green River. 

Mountain View’s stock will likely go up this week.

“I think it puts us in a spot where we aren’t as underestimated as we used to be,” Baylee Tims said. “I know what we can accomplish. I know we can get where we need to be. Right now, the goal is to make it to the state tournament. The ultimate goal is to win a state championship, but one step at a time, one game at a time.”

The Lady Buffalos are riding a six-game winning streak since suffering a 44-39 loss to Star Valley on Jan. 20. During that span, Mountain View has outscored its opponents 323-195.

“Defensively, I couldn’t be more pleased,” Moretti said. “Great defense creates great offense. I think that’s really happening.”

Mountain View will compete at Pinedale on Friday, before hosting Star Valley on Saturday. The Lady Buffalos’ final game of the regular season is at home against Lyman. 

Regional play kicks off March 1-3 in Pinedale before state March 8-10 in Casper. 

“Anything can happen at regionals,” Lyndee Hereford said. “It’s the team that shows up to play that’s going to win.”

FROM FRIDAY

Mountain View 47, Powell 33

POWELL – Mountain View jumped out to a six-point first-quarter lead and the Lady Buffalos didn’t look back in their 47-33 win against No. 3 Powell.
Hereford poured in a game-high 18 points for Mountain View, while Charity Harmon finished with 14 and Haily Stephens added seven for the Lady Buffalos. 

FROM SATURDAY

Mountain View 48, Cody 37

CODY – The Lady Buffalos used a strong third-quarter effort to extend their winning streak to six with a 48-37 victory against Cody on Saturday.

Mountain View held a 9-7 lead after the first quarter and 20-18 after the second. The Lady Buffalos outscored Cody 15-5 in the third to take a 35-23 advantage entering the final period.

Tims scored a game-high 20 points, while Stephens finished with 12 and Hereford added 11.

Lady Eagles fall to Cody

The Lyman High School girls’ basketball team suffered its first loss of the season on Friday when Cody claimed a 49-42 victory over the Lady Eagles.

Lyman, the No. 2-ranked team in Class 3A, bounced back on Saturday with a 49-36 victory against No. 3 Powell.

McKinley Bradshaw scored 38 points, McKailey Bradshaw added 28 points in the two games.

Buffalos earn split

The Mountain View High School boys’ basketball team came away with a 56-49 win against Powell on Friday before suffering a 61-51 loss to No. 3 Cody on Saturday. 

Braeden Walk led the way for the Buffalos (7-10, 2-1 3A West-South Conference) with a combined 31 points. Brandon Vitt added 24 points in the two games and Briggen Bluemel tallied 21. 

* Editors Note:

Please see Friday's edition of the Bridger Valley Pioneer for full story.