Boys beaten at the buzzer, girls trounced

So much to build on, so much to be excited about for the Jackson Broncs basketball team.
Despite the 51-49 loss to the Evanston Red Devils as heard on KZ95 last Saturday, the Jackson squad continues to show signs of improvement and a high ceiling for future development.
Start with the 4th quarter. The Broncs have been awful in the final 8 minutes of games. Coach Sam Lunz said the falloff late in games has been less about tiring and more about a team that has not yet learned how to finish strong. That might be changing.
Against Evanston, Jackson was down 11 at the half but came storming back fueled by freshman shooting guard Seb Brunner, who quieted the hometown fans by hitting four 3-pointers enroute to a 19-point game to lead all scorers. Fellow frosh Andrew Hanna added 14 of his own to put a real scare into the Red Devils until they got a game-winning layup from their leading scorer Burke Thomas (17 points) with seconds left to play.
Jackson had one last shot—a 3-ball from Seb Brunner—but it wouldn’t fall and the Red Devils prevailed much to the delight of their home fans.
Senior Gavin Brunner had an uncharacteristically poor outing. Sam Lopeman and Henry Berezay were also quiet in the scoring department though Berezay did bang the boards with 5 rebounds. Rowan Bruno chipped in 6, Gavin Keelin and Isaac Larson finished with 3 each.
Jackson did a decent job of containing power forward Braxton Lind. The 6’4” forward finished with just 10 points and 4 boards. The enormous Wade Bowen, at 6’10”, was also held in check. He finished with 4 points and 7 rebounds.
Plenty of blue sky in Jackson’s future. Three of the team’s top performers are freshmen and they’re getting better every game.
Next up for the Broncs (1-9, 0-3) is a makeup game with Big Piney in Sublette County on Tuesday, February 2.
Girls suffer beatdown
For the Lady Broncs, coach Jason Huggins’ list of walking wounded grew even longer as power forward Gracie Hardeman left Saturday’s game against Evanston with a head injury suffered in the 3rd quarter.
Already without the Fouras sisters—Audrey and Caroline—Melissa Kussy, Hannah Freeze, and a less-than-healthy Jacie Chatham, the Lady Broncs simply could not mount much of a threat to the Evanston Lady Devils, who were hungry for their first win of the season in front of a rowdy home crowd.
Huggins knew going in his girls would have to contain standout junior Stacia Barker. At 6’2”, the junior presents matchup problems inside. Barker’s slash line was impressive (11 points, 7 rebounds) but it was her cousin Mia Barker who also enjoyed a big game with 8 points and 3 boards.
Barker, along with 6-foot sophomore Emily Sawyer, effectively neutralized any down low game from Jackson’s star freshman Karsen Breeding (3 points) and Gracie Hardeman (2 points). That left the Lady Broncs nothing but perimeter shooting—something the team does not do well most nights.
The 48-16 loss was the worst of the season for the Lady Broncs, who fall to 1-10. They’ll have to reach deep when they hit the hardwood again this Friday and Saturday for home games with Riverton and Cody.

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