LYMAN — The Lyman Lady Eagles have a lot going for them.

They are the No. 2 preseason-ranked team in Class 3A and are coming off a tournament championship.

But Lyman doesn’t plan on getting complacent after claiming a 63-51 win over 4A Green River on Saturday in the championship game of the Bridger Valley Tournament. In fact, the Lady Eagles are already talking about ways to get better. 

“There’s definitely room for improvement,” Lyman senior Cedar Eyre said after Saturday’s game against Green River.
“This season is going to be a process. We did some good things, we executed well, but there’s definitely things to improve on.”

The Lady Eagles (3-0) opened tournament play with a 55-34 win against Wind River, before claiming a 45-24 win against Cokeville. 

Lyman led 15-8 after the first quarter against Green River and extended the lead to 28-21 at the break. Green River made a run late in the third quarter, but the Lady Wolves still trailed 44-37 entering the final period.

“I was nervous coming into this weekend, because there’s only four or five girls with any varsity experience,” Lyman coach Jason Hansen said. “Mandy Eyre and Nicole Peden, they really came to play this weekend and gave us that extra energy that allowed us to play the style we wanted to play.

“We’re farther ahead than I thought we would be. My younger girls have really stepped up.”

While the Lady Eagles have been successful early, they have also been winning ballgames without two key players. 

McKailey Bradshaw suffered a knee injury earlier and is expected to be out for at least a month.

“She’ll really help us when she gets back,” Hansen said. 

Kassidy Nelson will undergo an MRI this week. Nelson was a role player throughout the summer, but Hansen said she could potentially start some games this season if she has a clean bill of health

“With her being injured, some other girls have stepped up in that role and they’ve done a good job,” Hansen said.  “I’m excited to get McKailey and Kassidy back and make us that much deeper.” 

Of course, the Lady Eagles have do-it-all player McKinley Bradshaw to lean on. 

Bradshaw poured in a game-high 35 points and pulled down 13 rebounds against Green River. Cedar Eyre added 11 points and nine rebounds against the Lady Wolves. 

Bradshaw put up 25 points against Wind River and 19 against Cokeville. But the two-time All-State junior believes the Lady Eagles still have room to grow. And she isn’t making much of state rankings. 

“We just have to play to the best of our ability and see what happens,” Bradshaw said.

Hansen echos that statement.

“We just go out and play our game,” Hansen said. “We’ve been in that position before, and we just have to focus on day-by-day and improving each day. Whatever happens at the end will happen.”

Lyman returns to action at the Flaming Gorge Tournament when the Lady Eagles take on Rock Springs at 4 p.m. Thursday at Rock Springs High School. 

“We have a real tough game on Thursday,” Hansen said. “It’s a good tournament for us. We get to play bigger schools that really push us and make us better.”