The Alliance Lady Bulldogs participated in the Taco John’s Invitational in Cheyenne. The Bulldogs entered the fray with an 0-9 recorded and were matched up with Wyoming’s largest and best teams. The Bulldogs would fall to 7-1 Natrona by a score of 72-21. They would lose to 8-1 Cheyenne Central the #1 team in the state by a 61-21 final. The Dawgs would fall to 11-1 Cheyenne East the #2 team in the state by a 61-9 score. The Bulldogs are still hampered by injuries going into the invitational with only 4 juniors and seniors combined. Leyton Schnell would play under the weather the first two nights. Sophomore Amauri Browning would be injured on the first night and set out the next two evenings to further hamper the Bulldogs.
The Natrona contest was filled with full court pressure from the Fillies up to the end. Many starters remained on the floor for Natrona as the final horn sounded. The Bulldogs would play 14 athletes as they try to build the program. The Bulldogs were led in this contest by senior Payton Weber. Payton would tally 6 points and 6 rebounds to lead both categories. Sophomore, Leyton Schnell would turn in a fine game at the point while battling illness which limited her action. Another senior, Jordan Hopp, would also contribute with 5 blocked shots. Sophomore Angie Davis would add 6 rebounds to the effort.
Alliance 06 10 02 03=21
Natrona (7-1) 21 23 14 14=72
Weber 6, Browning 3, Davis 3, Schnell 2, Mazanec 2, Tritle 2, Weare 3
The Central game was played on their home court. Central applied full court pressure in the first half. They may have been the most athletic team the Bulldogs have faced to date. They showed why they were ranked #1 in Wyoming. The Bulldogs played hard and refused to give up. The night was lead in VPS rating system by junior Keeley Mazanec coming off the bench with 4 points and 3 rebounds. Jordan Hopp lead the team in three categories with 5 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Freshman Haley Weare would come off the bench to provide 4 points, scoring the first Bulldogs points of the game with a three pointer. Senior Cameron Tritle would add 5 rebounds to the Bulldog cause.
Alliance 05 077 06 03=21
Central (8-1) 20 23 16 02=61
Weber 2, Davis 2, Mazanec 4, Hopp 5, Tritle 2, Wood 2, Weare 4
The East game was also played on their home court. East provided pressure in the first half. The Bulldogs appeared road weary in this one struggling to mount any offense while turning the ball over 45 times against the #2 rated Cheyenne East squad. Cameron Tritle and Payton Weber led the scoring with 4 points each. Jordan Hopp led the rebounding with 5 while Payton Weber added 4 boards. Keeley Mazanec again rated top on the VPS system with Payton close behind.
Alliance (0-12) 04 01 04 00=09
Weber 4, Davis 1, Tritle 4
The next action for the Bulldogs doesn’t get much easier as they travel to Chadron to take on the #3 rated C-1 Cardinals who sport a 10-1 record. Currently of the 22 scheduled opponents the Bulldogs face, 16 of them carry a winning record.