The SVHS basketball teams made the relatively short trek to Jackson to face their Teton County rivals on Friday night and came away with a pair of lopsided victories in the Snake River Shootout.
Lady Braves: 56 Lady Broncs: 21
Although the final score was a blowout, the first half was a low-scoring and much tighter contest as the two teams traded jabs and ultimately went into the locker room with a 20-14 Star Valley advantage at intermission.
The second half was highlighted by a suffocating Lady Braves defense which held the home team to just seven points in the second half while setting up their offense with a bevy of steals and layup opportunities.
A season-high ten players scored points for Star Valley led by senior Emily Dana who finished with the game-high of 12. Ruby Hill scored nine while Kambree Johnson and Makell Haderlie each scored eight. Junior Ambrey Nelson stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, six rebounds and seven steals.
Dana and sophomore Avery England shared the game-high in rebounds with five. Dana also finished with five steals as the Lady Braves racked up 19 thefts on the night.
It was the 29th straight win over the Lady Broncs in the series history, continuing the longest such streak between the two schools. The two programs first played in 1977.
Braves: 73 Broncs: 45
Having lost two of three to Jackson last season and the last two on the Teton court, the Braves appeared energized to rectify both situations on Friday night as they scored a season-high 73 points behind 13 different players in the scoring column.
After a tight first quarter in which the two teams combined for eight three-point baskets, Star Valley put together perhaps their best quarter of the season as they outscored the Broncs 21-3 in the second quarter and the rout was on. Junior Dylan Shumway was on fire in the first half, scoring 17 of his team-high 20 points on a trio of three-point baskets, a three-point and-one and three made free throws combined with a play where he bounced the inbounds pass to himself off a Bronc player for a layup.
Cooper Lancaster very nearly had his third straight double-double as he finished with ten points and nine rebounds. Zack Thompson scored eight while Roman Erickson chipped in with six points and nine rebounds off the bench. Smith McClure also helped set the tone in the second quarter and finished with five points and six rebounds.
Star Valley out-rebounded the Broncs 45-23 and made a total of nine three-pointers. It was the fifth straight win for the Braves on their schedule.
The Star Valley teams will now prep for a split weekend to open up February where they will be playing at Rock Springs on Friday night before returning home for a Saturday afternoon contest against Green River.
