The 4A West Regionals were held in Evanston over the weekend and both the Lady Braves and Braves qualified for the State tournament and finished as the #2 seed from the conference. 

On the girls side, Star Valley rolled past Rock Springs in the opening round 47-26. Avery England led the team with ten points in the win.  They then had a low-scoring gritty win over the Natrona Fillies in the semifinals, 36-31. England had 14 in that contest. 

In the 4A West championship, the Lady Braves fell to the favored Green River Wolves 47-39. Ambrey Nelson led the team with 14 points. It is the fourth straight season the program has qualified for the State tournament and the sixth time in seven seasons under coach Kade Erickson. 

Evanston defeated Natrona County 43-34 in the third-place game as the other two teams to qualify from the 4A West. 

The first round of the 4A Girls State Tournament on Thursday is scheduled as follows. Opening round games will be played at Casper College. 

Cheyenne Central vs Evanston (9 am)
Green River vs Sheridan (10:30 am)

Star Valley vs Thunder Basin (3:30 pm)
Cheyenne East vs Natrona County (5 pm)

On the boys side, the Braves had back-to-back nail-biters against Sweetwater County teams. In the quarterfinals, Star Valley trailed by double-digits in two different quarters but battled back to tie the game against Rock Springs. In the end, Roman Erickson collected an offensive rebound and put in the game-winning jumper at the buzzer to give the Braves a 62-60 win. Cooper Lancaster scored 30 points, the third time this season he’s hit that number. 

In the semifinals, the Green River Wolves slowed down the pace and led for the majority of the game but the Braves once again tied the game in the final moments. Cooper Lancaster made two free throws which turned out to be the winning play in a 51-49 final. 

In the finals, the Braves battled the Natrona County Mustangs in a tight game but came up short in a 65-57 final. 

Kelly Walsh defeated Green River in the third place game as the other two qualifiers from the 4A West. 

The 4A Boys State Tournament is scheduled as follows:

Star Valley vs Cheyenne Central (12 noon)
Sheridan vs Green River (1:30 pm)

Thunder Basin vs Kelly Walsh (6:30 pm)
Natrona County vs Campbell County (8 pm)

SVI Media will be on site to provide audio-only live coverage on Swift 98 and on the SVI News app. Look for video highlights after the games. 

Look for more details from the 4A West Regionals in the March 11, 2026 edition of the Star Valley Independent.