Basketball Game Preview: Natrona County Mustangs vs. Laramie Plainsmen

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Previous Games

12/13/24 - Home	46-60 L
02/09/24 - Home	44-57 L
02/10/23 - Away	58-53 W
12/09/21 - Home	52-46 W
01/05/21 - Home	50-65 L
+ 5 more games

Natrona County and Laramie are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2017, but not for long. The Natrona County Mustangs will challenge the Laramie Plainsmen at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. Natrona County will be strutting in after a win while Laramie will be coming in after a defeat.

Natrona County is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Wyoming's top teams: Kelly Walsh, who was ranked 19th at the time (Natrona County was ranked 20th). Natrona County slipped by Kelly Walsh 38-37 on Saturday. The victory was nothing new for the Mustangs as they're now sitting on three straight.

Laramie has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. The game between Laramie and Campbell County didn't end well, with Laramie falling 76-62.

Natrona County will need to focus on slowing down Jaden Smith, one of several Laramie players who made an impact when they last played. He went 7-for-17 to rack up 19 points along with seven boards and five assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Brayden Mckinney, who shot 50% from the field en route to 14 points.

Even though they lost, Laramie was working as a unit and finished the game with ten assists. This was only their fourth loss (out of 19 games) when they've passed the ball that well.

Natrona County's win bumped their record up to 15-9. As for Laramie, their loss dropped their record down to 17-8.

Natrona County lost to Laramie on the road by a decisive 60-46 margin when the teams last played back in December of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Laramie's Neil Summers, who dropped a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Now that Natrona County knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.