The young Evanston High School girls’ hoops team went 0-2 at home over the weekend, losing to No. 2-ranked Cody Friday 70-11, but coming out strong Saturday against Riverton to give the Lady Wolverines a game in a 49-35 loss.

“Cody’s about as good a basketball team as you’ll ever see for girls in the state of Wyoming,” said EHS head coach Roy Barker. “Obviously, we’re trying to grow and learn, figure things out and rebuild the program, so losses like that are tough. But overall, I thought the girls fought for a while, it just got a little overwhelming there, at the end. And then we came back against Riverton and played well — we let their best shooter get going and hit some shots on us, so we didn’t defend her very well. But at the same time, the girls fought, and made some baskets, they rebounded the ball — they did a bunch of things that I really liked to see. They were taking it at the other team, instead of always taking the hits.”

The Lady Devils (1-16, 1-2 in 4A SW Quadrant) host Green River Thursday for their Senior Night; it’s also the home finale for Evanston, who will finish out the regular season on the road at Star Valley and Jackson.

“We have three seniors that will be honored Thursday — Rhyen Debenham, Jacey Beardsley and Eden Deat, who’s a foreign exchange student. The two seniors who have been in the program for a long time — Rhyen and Jacey — they’ve been through a lot, a lot of ups and downs in the program. But they’ve stuck it out, where they easily could have maybe tanked it in. They haven’t. We’re proud of them, for sticking it out, and trying to do the best they can. We really appreciate that. And Eden — to be able to come in and be a part of this program, is kind of special for her, as well.”

Cody 70,

Lady Devils 11

Friday’s game against Cody didn’t feature a lot of offense from the Lady Devils, but it was not without its high points, according to coach Barker.

“Against Cody, I thought, at times, we handled their pressure well,” Barker said. “It’s always good to practice against that kind of pressure, because I can’t duplicate that in practice. And honestly, it was good for the girls to see a team like Cody — this is what we want to get to if we want to become a state championship team. It’s good to see what we have to build up to.”

Lady Devils senior Ryhen Debenham led the team in scoring with five points, followed by two points apiece for Braelynn Morrison, Jacey Bardsley and Annalee West.

Riverton 49,

Lady Devils 35

Saturday’s game against Riverton saw the Lady Wolverines jump out to a 13-6 first-quarter lead, only to see the Lady Devils pull within five at the break, 20-15.

Evanston continued to play tough in the second half, pulling within six points in the fourth quarter before running out of steam, falling 49-35.

“Our young kids have been playing pretty well, our JV and freshman kids,” Barker explained. “It’s nice to see that, then have them come into the varsity game, and be able to be in it was really exciting, and fun to watch.”