Basketball Recap: Pine Bluffs Comes Up Short in High-Profile Match with Wheatland

On Tuesday, Pine Bluffs faced Wheatland in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Pine Bluffs Hornets fell just short of the Wheatland Bulldogs by a score of 52-49. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Bulldogs this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 55-41 back in December of 2024.

Wheatland found their leader in sophomore Lily Anderson, who posted 27 points and three steals. The match was Anderson's eighth in a row with at least 20 points. Another player making a difference was Tayen Wakkuri, who had nine points.

Pine Bluffs' defeat dropped their record down to 15-6. As for Wheatland, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-5 record this season.

Coming up, Pine Bluffs will head out on the road to take on Niobrara County at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Niobrara County's defense has only allowed 29.4 points per game this season, so Pine Bluffs' offense will have their work cut out for them. As for Wheatland, they will head out to challenge Torrington at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.