The streak continues.
The Douglas girls extended their consecutive state championship run to five with a 60-46 victory over Buffalo on Friday at the Ford Wyoming Center. The Bearcats won titles in 2017-18 and 2021-23 and entered the 2020 Wyoming State High School Class 3A Basketball Championships with a 24-1 record before the tournament was canceled due to the pandemic.
Sophomore Jaden Meyer scored twice at the rim to give Douglas (27-2) a 4-0 lead and the Bearcats never trailed. Every time the Bison got close Douglas sophomore Lauren Olson had an answer.
She scored seven consecutive points late in the first quarter to give the Bearcats a 16-7 advantage. When Buffalo (21-5) cut the margin to 18-16 early in the second, Olson scored on a runner in the lane and in transition to make it 22-16. After Kamry Davis made two free throws for the Bison, Douglas senior Brooke Wright knocked down a 3-pointer and Olson scored six consecutive points to extend the lead to 31-18 and give her 17 points.
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The Bearcats took a 31-21 lead into the half, but the Bison got a follow shot from Tess Rule and back-to-back buckets in the paint from Grace Peterson to make it a 31-27 game. Wright responded with a triple and after another basket from Peterson, Olson had a steal and layup and a left-handed shot in traffic and Leticia DeGracia scored to push the lead to 40-29.
Rule had five consecutive points for the Bison before Olson beat the third-quarter buzzer with a short jumper to make it 42-34.
The teams traded buckets in the fourth, with Rule cutting the Douglas lead to 50-45 with a drive down the lane with 3 minutes remaining.
Olson collided with another player and had to go to the bench with a bloody nose, but Wright split a pair of free throws and Meyer scored at the rim to push the lead to 55-46. Olson returned in the final minute and made 5 of 6 free throws to put the game on ice.
Olson finished with a game-high 28 points for Douglas, which also got 14 points from Wright and 10 from Meyer.
Rule scored 20 and Peterson added 14 for Buffalo, which had defeated Douglas in the East Regional championship game last week.
Douglas is now 153-7 the past six seasons and improved to 11-0 all-time against Buffalo in the state tournament.
Follow sports editor Jack Nowlin on Twitter @wyovarsity
Jack Nowlin
Sports editor
Jack Nowlin returned to the Star-Tribune in 2007 after eight years covering Michigan State University athletics. A Wyoming native, and a graduate of Jeffrey City High School and the University of Wyoming, Jack serves as the Star-Tribune’s sports editor.
