The Lady Braves lost a heartbreaker in the opening round of the 4A State Basketball tournament in Casper as they came up short in a 44-39 loss to Thunder Basin in overtime. 

After falling behind early, the Star Valley girls showed the grit they have displayed all season long to battle back and take a halftime lead. The two schools traded runs before the Bolts nailed a key three-point basket from Addison Rouse who tie the game heading into the final minutes. The two squads eventually went into overtime. 

In the extra stanza, the Bolts were able to ride Rouse’s terrific free throw shooting as she finished with 20 points and went 12 of 13 from the line. Star Valley had a balanced scoring sheet with Ambrey Nelson and Morgan McGee leading the team with nine apiece McGee fouled out late in the contest. Nelson finished with a game-high of ten rebounds. Avery England finished with six points while Hudsyn Kleeman scored five points and had seven rebounds. Cam Mackey also finished with five points and five rebounds. 

The loss drops the Lady Braves into the Consolation bracket where they will now face Natrona County for the fourth time this season. Star Valley won the other three meetings although they were all hard-fought contests. Tip-off time is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Friday morning from the Ford Wyoming Center. SVI Media will have audio coverage of the contest on Swift 98 in the Star Valley area, here at svinews.com and on the SVI News app.