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Undefeated, No. 1 LSRV girls look to defend regional title

Andy Bockelman
Taylor Kaisler, a Little Snake River Valley (Wyo.) School junior, scored 12 points Friday to help the LSRV girls varsity basketball team beat Hanna-Elk Mountain, 73-20, on the road. The Rattlers finished the regular season Saturday with a 62-34 victory over Encampment at home to wrap up a No. 1 seed in the 1A West Regional Tournament. Above, Kaisler is shown playing earlier this season against Hanna-Elk Mountain.
Joshua Gordon

Road to perfection ...

Results from the Little Snake River Valley (Wyo.) School girls varsity basketball team’s 22 wins this season:

(Date — opponent — score)

• Dec. 2/11 — Shoshoni — 38-28

• Dec. 3/11 — Wright — 68-32

• Dec. 3/11 — Rawlins — 74-3

• Dec. 9/11 — Arvada-Clearmont — 58-35

• Dec. 10/11 — Midwest — 48-20

• Dec. 10/11 — Meeteetse — 54-9

• Dec. 16/11 — Rangely — 70-38

• Dec. 17/11 — Hayden — 50-43

• Jan. 6 — Hanna-Elk Mountain — 60-11

• Jan. 7 — Saratoga — 46-31

• Jan. 10 — Hayden — 46-32

• Jan. 12 — Rangely — 43-26

• Jan. 13 — Saratoga — 50-27

• Jan. 20 — Farson-Eden — 39-31

• Jan. 21 — Cokeville — 47-36

• Jan. 27 — Big Piney — 61-16

• Jan. 28 — Encampment — 40-26

• Feb. 4 — Manila, Utah — 62-29

• Feb. 10 — Cokeville — 58-48

• Feb. 11 — Farson-Eden — 45-33

• Feb. 17 — Hanna-Elk Mountain — 73-20

• Feb. 18 — Encampment — 62-34

— LSRV finished the regular season 22-0 overall, 8-0 in the Three Trails Conference

Road to perfection …

Results from the Little Snake River Valley (Wyo.) School girls varsity basketball team’s 22 wins this season:

(Date — opponent — score)

• Dec. 2/11 — Shoshoni — 38-28



• Dec. 3/11 — Wright — 68-32

• Dec. 3/11 — Rawlins — 74-3



• Dec. 9/11 — Arvada-Clearmont — 58-35

• Dec. 10/11 — Midwest — 48-20

• Dec. 10/11 — Meeteetse — 54-9

• Dec. 16/11 — Rangely — 70-38

• Dec. 17/11 — Hayden — 50-43

• Jan. 6 — Hanna-Elk Mountain — 60-11

• Jan. 7 — Saratoga — 46-31

• Jan. 10 — Hayden — 46-32

• Jan. 12 — Rangely — 43-26

• Jan. 13 — Saratoga — 50-27

• Jan. 20 — Farson-Eden — 39-31

• Jan. 21 — Cokeville — 47-36

• Jan. 27 — Big Piney — 61-16

• Jan. 28 — Encampment — 40-26

• Feb. 4 — Manila, Utah — 62-29

• Feb. 10 — Cokeville — 58-48

• Feb. 11 — Farson-Eden — 45-33

• Feb. 17 — Hanna-Elk Mountain — 73-20

• Feb. 18 — Encampment — 62-34

— LSRV finished the regular season 22-0 overall, 8-0 in the Three Trails Conference

A strange number of players stepped Saturday onto the basketball court of the Little Snake River Valley School in Baggs, Wyo.

With six girls on the court against the traditional five from the opponent, the Rattlers received a technical foul immediately following the opening tip.

However, the penalty was one of the most special moments of the year for the LSRV coach, made all the better by the end of the game.

The LSRV girls varsity team ended the regular season Saturday undefeated, capped by a 62-34 victory against the Encampment Tigers.

With a 22-0 overall record and an 8-0 mark in the Three Trails Conference, the Rattlers are seeded No. 1 in the 1A West Regional Tournament, which begins Thursday.

The Encampment win was unique for a number of reasons, but mainly because it was the final home game for six seniors — Riley Adams, Natalie Duncan, Caelee Criswell, Shelby McKee, Morgan Wille and Callie Wilson.

Coach Jodi Stanley made special arrangements with officials and the opponent to allow for all six players to start the game, willing to sacrifice the opportunity to score first.

“Having six seniors, that never happens for a small school, so I wanted to do something special and different for them,” she said. “The crowd didn’t even know what was going on at first, but once it started, they gave them a standing ovation.

“The technical we got gave Encampment two free throws and they made both of them, so we started the game (down) 2-0, but it didn’t hurt us.”

Having defeated Encampment 40-26 only weeks earlier, the Rattlers knew what was in store for them and turned on the pressure.

Besides playing strong defense, the girls drained one shot after another.

Criswell scored 14 points and McKee added 11, but the Rattlers benefited from 27 points and nine steals from Wille, a personal best.

“I think Morgan’s very first game as a freshman, she got 24, and I don’t think she’s matched that since,” Stanley said. “They all did great and had a lot of fun for their last game in the Snake Pit.”

The win over the Tigers came after a morale booster in the last road game of the regular season Friday, when the Rattlers played Hanna-Elk Mountain. The Rattlers scored early and often, winning 73-20.

“My varsity didn’t play a lot that game, but my JV came in and shot really well,” Stanley said. “Our JV has been very fortunate this year to get a lot of playing time with the varsity. They’ve had some trouble scoring before, but this time it just clicked.”

The third quarter saw the most Rattler points with 26, helped along by the varsity lineup’s presence.

Overall, sophomore Lydia Skalberg led the scoring with 14, with Wille close behind with 13, junior Taylor Kaisler with 12, and Duncan with 10.

“We only had 10 turnovers total in that game, and we really took care of the ball,” Stanley said.

A pigtail game between Hanna and St. Stephens will determine who LSRV plays in the first round of the regional tournament Thursday in Lander.

Stanley coached the Rattlers to a first-place finish at the tourney in 2011, before finishing third at state.

“I don’t think I’ve ever taken a 22-0 team to regionals before,” Stanley said. “We lost two games at the beginning of the season last year, so we weren’t undefeated, but this group of seniors I’ve got has been really determined.”

Stanley said the team’s upset at state last year has helped her players set goals for how they want to end this season.

“We’ve done everything we wanted to do this season, but we still have kind of a bitter taste in our mouths from falling short last year, and it’s in the back of our minds,” she said. “It seems to me the girls have kind of a chip on their shoulder, and there’s absolutely no danger of them overlooking other teams, which is what we did last year.

“We’re not going to make any predictions at this point, we’ll just play and see what happens.”

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