After trailing early, the Lady Red Devils made a surge midway through the third quarter, but were held off down the stretch as Cheyenne East held on for a 58-56 win against Evanston.
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CHEYENNE — Despite losing to the top-ranked in the state by two points on Saturday at the Cheyenne Invitational, Evanston High School girls’ basketball coach Jeremy Fessler believes his team didn’t play up to its full potential.
After trailing early, the Lady Red Devils made a surge midway through the third quarter, but were held off down the stretch as Cheyenne East held on for a 58-56 win against Evanston.
“It’s disappointing we didn’t play up to our ability,” Fessler said in a phone interview Sunday. “I thought East controlled the game for two and a half quarters”
The Lady Thunderbirds, the No. 1 team in Class 4A, held an 11-6 lead after the first quarter and went into the break with a 25-16 advantage.
Evanston, ranked fifth in Class 4A, outscored East 19-17 in the third quarter to pull within 42-35. The Lady Red Devils (7-2) got a balanced scoring attack from Tayler Groll, Emmery Wagstaff and Natalie Robbins to put Evanston back within striking distance.
“We had to score before their defense set up,” Fessler said. “We didn’t get into an up and down game until the end of the third quarter. When we do what we know what we’re supposed to do, and we get up and play hard, and we get up and play fast, we can play with anybody in the state.”
The Lady Red Devils, known for their fast style of play, outscored East 21-16 in the final period, but it wasn’t enough.
Wagstaff scored 22 points in the contest. She hit five 3-pointers, three coming in the fourth quarter. Robins finished with 11 points and Groll added nine to lead the Lady Red Devils, who went 15 of 28 from the free-throw line.
East improved to 8-3 on the year after falling to Natrona 40-27 on Friday.
“It builds confidence for them, knowing we can play with East and we can play with all these teams. I think it’s a good thing for the girls,” Fessler said. “I’m proud of the girls for their comeback, but we can’t dig ourselves that hole.”
