Hooper, Bulldogs roll past Lady Plainsmen

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Some combinations hurt. Saturday‘s combination of poor shooting by the Laramie Lady Plainsmen and the outstanding play of Alliance’s Jordan Hooper were deadly.

Hooper, the reigning Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year, scored 32 points and had several big defensive plays to lead Alliance past Laramie 54-39 at Plainsman Gym.

The 6-foot-2 Bulldog junior showed all of the tools that has Division I college coaches knocking on her door. In fact, Wyoming head coach Joe Legerski and associate head coach Gerald Mattinson were in attendance at Saturday‘s game. Hooper has already made a recruiting trip to Stanford, while other national powers such as Tennessee are said to be interested. Hooper is also highly recruitted in volleyball, especially by nationally-ranked Nebraska.

Hooper helped break open a relatively close game at 25-23 with a 20-4 run, highlighted when she blocked a Lady Plainsmen shot, grabbed the loose ball and took it coast-to-coast for a layup. Hooper scored 20 of the team’s 32 points in the second half.

The win moved Alliance, Class B runnerups last season in Nebraska, to 9-1 on the season. Hooper helped lead Alliance to the state title her freshman season.

“We tried several things. We doubled her and she kicked it out and they hit a couple of 3s on us,” Laramie coach Rod Tyson said. “That is a good, smart team. But if we make some shots, we’re right in the game.”

The Lady Plainsmen (5-4) had more shots from the field in the contest, but couldn’t get those shots to fall with just 16 field goals, including four 3-pointers.

“The biggest difference was that we could not make any shots," Tyson said. "With that, we had a lot of tips and still some opportunities, but we turned it right back over. We had several things that could have helped us, we just didn’t get it done.”

Saturday’s game was the first for Laramie since a loss to Gering, Neb., on Dec. 19, although the Lady Plainsmen did play an alumni game on Dec. 27.

Tyson said he wasn’t sure if the layoff hurt the Lady Plainsmen.

“It’s hard to say because I haven’t been in a situation with these girls after a long layoff,” Tyson said. “I don’t know if that had something to do with it or not. I guess we’ll find out in the future. I think, by looking at the jayvee game, the girls were ready to play. Defensively, our presses were doing a good job. Maybe the layoff had something to do with our shots, but we didn’t shoot very well in the last two or three games.”

One thing Tyson was sure of, though, is his players need to be more confident with their shot.

“After you start missing, you’re confidence gets down,” he said. “Instead of thinking the next time I shoot it I am going to make it, you’re nervous about missing it. If you think you are going to miss, you’re probably going to miss.”

The good news for the Lady Plainsmen: They’ll get right back at it on Monday and prepare for Friday’s home game with Green River.

“We’re playing every weekend from here on out, so we have to get ready and get to work,” Tyson said.
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BULLDOGS 54, LADY PLAINSMEN 39
ALLIANCE (54): Jordan Hooper 12 6-7 32, Rahne Kunzeman 3 0-0 8, Devan Collins 2 4-4 8, Lindsey Briggs 1 1-2 3, Jessie Mattox 0 1-2 1, Jenny Peltz 1 0-0 2, Jayne Friesen 0 0-0 0, Haylee McVicker 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Clarke 0 0-0 0, Billie Kunzeman 0 0-0 0, Morgan Jurgens 0 0-0 0, Morgan Kielwitz 0 0-0 0, Olivia Conley 0 0-0 0, Steph Burger 0 0-0 0 , Lauren Reiber 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 12-15 54.
LARAMIE (39): Brea Curry 2 0-0 6, Kiley Dodson 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Schmidt 1 1-2 4, Maddie Francis 1 0-0 2, Dani Harvey 0 0-0 0, Amber Vandiver 2 1-2 5, Krista Fanning 1 0-0 2, Kylee Anderson 2 0-0 4, Kylie Olson 3 0-0 6, Toby Dunlavy 0 0-0 0,Kyleigh Hiser 3 0-0 7, Ariela Schreibeis 0 0-0 0, Ragen Wilson 1 0-0 3, Kensie Harris 0 0-0 0, Allie Riegal 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 2-4 39.
Alliance 6 16 12 20 — 54
Laramie 6 12 8 13 — 39
3-Point Goals — Alliance: 4 (Hooper 2, Kuntzman 2). Laramie: 5 (Curry 2, Hiser, Schmidt, Wilson). Fouled out — none. Intentional fouls — none. Technicals — none.