Lady Cowboys duel in dual championships in Buffalo Shoot-Out

The Cowboys Girls rode north to Orderville for the two-day Buffalo Shoot- Out! tournament held in Valley High’s new gym on Friday-Saturday, December 9-10, assuming the championship crowns, as well as trophies, in both JV and Varsity divisions.

All Hail the Lady Cowboys! Championship winners of Valley’s 2022 Buffalo Shoot-Out! They are (L-R): Gracie Jensen, Beka Rogers, Lindsey Cornell, Cache Johnson, Saige Staton, Adisyn Daley, Rylee Little, Anna Cutler (with Trophy), Emilie Gilbert, Sydney Day, Ashlyn Houston, Taylor Janes, Cora Shakespear, Kenidee Glazier and Emma Fryer. Photos by Jerry Melrose.

The JVs duked-out a win over the Monument Valley Cougars on Friday at 3:30 p.m., before their 10:30 a.m., Saturday showdown’s 38-34 settlement versus Valley based on 12 points by Beka Rogers and 11 from Emilie Gilberg.

The Varsity’s 5:30 p.m. opener was never in question as they captured the Monument Valley Cougars, 61-47, behind a barrage of treys by Ashlyn Houston (five of her 20 points) and Anna Cutler (two for her 16), to go along with 6’4” Rylee Little’s 10 talleys. Likewise, in their 1:30 Championship contest against Parowan, convincingly won, 55-33, Ashlyn drained another four of her 20-point total, as did Anna with two of her 10. Rylee added another 10.

Another of Anna Cutler’s two three-point shots during Kanab’s 55-33 Championship Game victory vs. Parowan. Of her team, the savvy point-guard says: “It’s really nice to have every girl on the floor who could score, help out. And we have really tall girls. Like, if our guards miss, we can, better than pass early, they’ll put it back in. So, it’s great!” Could she have in mind wily Rylee Little, 6’4” freshman center?

“We’re young; we’re getting better,” proclaimed Cowboys Coach Klint Glover, following the Varsity’s win over the Parowan Rams, their fellow 2A rivals. “We’ve got some really good young talent that we gotta’ develop, and there’s a lot of potential. But, we talked about our ‘potential,’ developing our potential, because you get beat with ‘potential’ a lot. So, anyway, they’re working hard: all of them are working hard to get better.

“We lost one of our better girls on Tuesday with a sprained ankle … Savannah Bateman; she’s been really good, too. So, we weren’t as deep as we normally are; so, we got a little tired. We played four games this week; so, we’re a little worn-out. But, we’re getting better!

“They toughened-up. We kinda’ do that on-purpose. We try to schedule a three-day weekend once in a while so we can see if we’re mentally tough enough to do it. It was good - just looking forward to getting better.”