A Season Low For The Grizzlies

At the midseason mark the Grace Grizzlies reeled off three consecutive wins against larger schools and appeared to be ready to go on a roll.  The loss of one of their top players and the coaches shaking up the personnel lineup has sent the Grizzlies into a tailspin.  Since that three game win streak the Grizzlies have gone an abysmal one and four.  The one win came against a midrange 2A team that was a closer game than it should have been.  Only one of the four losses was somewhat close and that was a five point loss to Soda Springs.  Two of the more significant losses came in last week’s games against West Side and American Falls. 

On Wednesday the Grizzlies traveled to Dayton to take on the Pirates.  This game was a rematch of the season opener for Grace where the Grizzlies suffered a four point loss at home.  In last week’s game the Grizzlies hung tough with the Pirates through the first quarter of play.  Led by Braden Kimball’s six points the Grizzlies trailed by just one point after the first period of play.  The Grizzlies would not get that close again.  In the second period Grace would only muster six points total and the Pirates racked up thirteen.  Coming out of the half the Grizzlies were reenergized.  Grace was perfect from the line in the quarter and earned baskets from five different players.  Unfortunately where the Grizzlies struggled was on defense, particularly perimeter defense.  This is an area that Grace has struggled in all year.  The Pirates were able to hit three triples and outpace the Grizzlies in the quarter extending the lead.  Now trailing by double digits the Grizzlies entered the fourth needing to make up some ground.  As perfect as they were from the charity stripe in the third they were almost as bad from that spot in the fourth.  Going just three for eight from the line and missing several three point shots Grace was unable to mount a comeback losing the game by eleven.

The Grizzlies second game of the week was a home game against American Falls.  The Beavers have had a very successful season making several appearances in the top five 4A rankings.  Grace was a heavy underdog in the game and it did not take long to see why.  Perimeter defense was once again a problem for the Grizzlies as they gave up nineteen points in the quarter.  Fortunately for Grace they were sent to the line several times by the Beavers and capitalized on several of those trips keeping the game within striking distance.  In the second period the Grizzlies did not fare as well.  They did still manage to score in the double digits but fell further behind.  The Grizzlies entered the halftime break already losing by thirteen points.  The Grizzlies were able to limit the Beavers scoring compared to the two previous quarters but Grace also struggled to score.  By the end of the period American Falls held a substantial twenty point lead.  In the fourth quarter the Grizzlies hit a low point in their season when the Beavers extended the lead to thirty points qualifying for the running clock mercy rule.  The Beavers finally called off the dogs and Grace put in some late shots but still lost the game by twenty six points.

The Grizzlies face a brutal week this week.  They faced off with a hot Soda Springs team on Tuesday.  That game had not yet been played at the writing of this article.  The cross county rivalry game always brings lots of intensity and a large crowd.  Next the Grizzlies host another big rival Butte County on Thursday.  That game will be critical in determining the top seed for the district tournament.  Grace wraps up the week with Cokeville Wyoming on Saturday.  The Panthers always give the Grizzlies a tough game.

With just a few games left in the season the Grizzlies need to go back to the drawing board to see if they can come up with a strategy to salvage a disappointing season.  The Grizzlies ticket to state goes through Butte County so Thursday night’s game will be telling.  

Grizzlies 13 6 16 10 45

Pirates 14 13 20 9 56

D.Hill 1, J.Smith 2, B.Kimball 14, C.Andersen 6, C.Smith 7, C.Reeves 7, P.Yost 7, L.Moss 1

Grizzlies 14 11 6 7 38

Beavers 19 19 13 13 64

D.Hill 4, B.Kimball 9, G.Draper 1, C.Andersen 2, C.Smith 11, C.Reeves 4, C.Welch 2, P.Yost 5