PINEDALE – The Pinedale High School Lady Wranglers pulled out all the stops in home games against 4A Jackson on Tuesday, Jan. 30, and 3A Lovell on Feb. 2, netting two more victories and boosting their already impressive season record to 12-3.

A tenacious Lady Wrangler offense netted 48 points in the first half of the game against Jackson while an ironclad Pinedale defense held the Lady Broncs to seven points, setting the running clock into motion as the teams headed for the locker rooms.

Pinedale hammered away at Jackson in the second half to snag the win by an overwhelming 66-point margin, 76-10.

“Against Jackson, we worked on a lot of things, especially defensively, that helped secure the win,” head coach Trent Bowers said. “Our main focus was to let each player get involved and push the tempo of the game while locking them down with our defense.”

On Friday, the Lady Wranglers established a commanding 40-20 advantage against the Lovell Lady Bulldogs by halftime. Pinedale prevailed against attempts by Lovell to close the deficit in the third quarter. A scrappy Lady Wrangler defense nearly shut out the Lady Bulldogs from scoring in the fourth quarter and Pinedale posted its 12th season victory, 68-35.

“Lovell was a better opponent, so we approached things differently, although our overall theme was similar to the game against Jackson – push the tempo of the game and create touches for everyone,” Coach Bowers said. “On offense, it was a good shooting game, one of the top games for the team. Eight players scored, which is great. On defense, (junior) Mae McGuire and (sophomore) Alyxis White did a good job reducing touches by Lovell.”

Offensively, the Lady Wranglers cemented their position as a state leader in 3-pointers during the game against Lovell, Bowers added.

Junior Elyn Bowers shot at 80 percent from outside the perimeter and also posted 100-percent free throw and field goal percentages against Jackson. Junior Gabby Rogers shot 50 percent from outside and 100 percent from inside the perimeter. Sophomore Erica Wilson netted a 60-percent 3-point shooting rate.

Bowers is currently the leading scorer for all classifications in Wyoming, tallying an impressive 23 points per game.

“We’ve had great shooting games week in and week out,” Coach Bowers said.

The Lady Wranglers look forward to a challenging week against 3A Southwest Quadrant rivals Lyman on Friday, Feb. 9, followed by Lander on Saturday. With the postseason around the corner, the Lady Wranglers hope to shake up the rankings in a particularly tough conference.

“We are on solid ground and the girls have done a great job this season,” Bowers noted. “The girls play good team basketball and have great team chemistry – they understand where each player needs to be on the court. It’s exciting where the girls are at and what the future holds.”

Jackson

The Lady Wranglers set the momentum in the first quarter against the Lady Broncs, outscoring Jackson, 26-2. Maintaining its blistering pace, Pinedale netted 22 points in the second quarter while a gritty Lady Wrangler defense held Jackson to five.

The Lady Wrangler defense completely shut out Jackson from scoring in the third quarter while the Pinedale offense tossed in another 12 points. Pinedale topped the game off with 16 points in the fourth quarter while Jackson only managed three.

Bowers led Pinedale in scoring against Jackson with 29 points. Rogers posted 15 points, Wilson 14, McGuire six and White four.

Wilson went double-double with 10 rebounds. White also dominated the boards with 12 rebounds.

Lovell

Pinedale controlled the scoreboard through the first and second quarter to double the Lady Bulldogs in scoring, 40-20, by halftime.

Lovell’s offense recovered in the third quarter with 11 points, though the effort came up short against Pinedale’s 15-point tally.

Dominating the fourth quarter, Pinedale netted 13 points while holding Lovell to four.

Eight Lady Wranglers contributed to the final points tally against Lovell. Bowers led with 22 points, Rogers 18, Wilson 13, McGuire six, White four, two apiece by junior Madeline Hawke and sophomore Charlotte Hawke and a free throw from sophomore Claire Thonhoff.