Lady Grizzlies Wrap Up Long Road Stint

The Lady Grizzlies took on a pair of non conference foes last week traveling first to Marsh Valley on Wednesday then to Oakley on Saturday.  It was a challenging week of games for the Grizzlies with Marsh Valley being two classifications larger than Grace and Oakley being the number one 2A team in the state.

At Marsh Valley the Lady Grizzlies got off to a good start.  Tessica Jorgensen put in six points in the first quarter and helped the Grizzlies establish an early five point lead.  The Lady Grizzlies continued to do some solid scoring in the second quarter that included a pair of three point shots by Kallie Stoddard and Kameron Mansfield.  However the Eagles would not be outdone in the second.  Marsh Valley returned the favor of the first quarter and outscored Grace by five points in the period sending the teams to the locker room deadlocked.  In the third period the Grizzlies continued to put up good scoring numbers.  Grace would get baskets from six different players in the quarter but were outdone by the Marsh Valley starters who by the end of the period had built a four point lead.  The defenses from both teams tightened up in the fourth quarter and the game stayed close and competitive.  When the final horn sounded the Lady Grizzlies came up just one basket short, losing the game by just two points.

Following the close loss the Grizzlies hit the road once again this time traveling to Oakley for an early Saturday game against the Hornets.  Oakley entered the game undefeated and sitting at the top of every 2A poll in the state.  It didn’t take long for Oakley to show why they have been so successful.  At the end of the first quarter the Lady Grizzlies had scored seven points but the Hornets had put up twelve.  In the second quarter the Grace defense went to work.  The Lady Grizzlies were able to hold the Hornets to just one field goal but did see Oakley go three out of four from the charity stripe.  Unfortunately the Lady Grizzlies were not able to cut into the lead as they themselves struggled to score and the teams headed to halftime with Oakley still holding a five point lead.  In the third the Grizzlies continued to play solid defense and nearly matched the Hornets offensively.  However as the fourth quarter began the Lady Grizzlies still trailed now by six points.  In the fourth the Grizzlies would get to the foul line four times but would only manage going two for eight in those attempts.  The uncharacteristic poor foul shooting combined with a pair of three point shots from the Hornets helped Oakley pull away in this one.  The Grizzlies fell to the top team in their classification by fourteen points.

This week is a slower week for the Lady Grizzlies as they have just one game.  The road weary Grizzlies will be at home for the first time since November 21st.  The Lady Grizzlies will face another tough match up in that game taking on 4A American Falls on Saturday.  Grace lost to the Beavers early this month on the road.

Grizzlies 11 12 13 9 45

Eagles 6 17 17 7 47

E.Olenslager 2, K.Stoddard 12, K.Christensen 6, K.Mansfield 10, P.Steadman 2, C.Yost 1, T.Jorgensen 12

Grizzlies 7 5 8 6 26

Hornets 12 5 9 14 40

E.Olenslager 2, K.Stoddard 5, K.Mansfield 2, C.Yost 6, T.Jorgensen 11