EVANSTON — The Lady Red Devils relied on tenacious team defense to limit the Bridger Valley teams in scoring and it paid off in a hard-fought, 30-26 win in Mountain View on Friday evening, but Evanston could not provide the offensive firepower necessary to contend with the McKinley Bradshaw-led Lady Eagles during Evanston’s home opener on Saturday evening won by Lyman, 40-23.

Evanston never trailed in the game against the Lady Buffs, though Mountain View pulled within a single point on a few occasions. Evanston jumped out to a 9-3 first quarter lead only to witness Mountain View  make it a one-possession game at the break, 16-13. Both teams netted seven in the third with Evanston besting the Lady Buffs by a single point in the final frame. The game was up for grabs but neither team seemed able to convert from the charity stripe down the stretch. Evanston rose to 7-4 with the win, while Mountain View has dropped five consecutively after opening the season with six wins in a row. Ajahonna Archuleta led all scorers with 12 for Evanston, while Kori Deru netted seven, followed by Natalie Robbins with six, Hannah Sowers with four, and Taryn Wagstaff with one point.

Lyndee Hereford paced the Lady Buffs with nine points and Haily Stephens added four. Haylee Hereford and Charity Harmon each netted three, with Paytan Porter and Sadie Mitchell each contributing two points, unofficially.

A recap of the Evanston-Lyman game, along with a preview  of the three Uinta County girls’ teams as they enter conference play will appear in the Herald this Friday.