WORLAND - It has been nearly a month since the Worland Warriors and Lady Warriors basketball teams last played a game, but this week both teams will put the hours of practice to good use as they compete in the Big Horn Basin Shootout basketball tournaments tomorrow and Saturday.

The Warriors play their first games of 2018 at Worland High School as WHS and Thermopolis will split hosting duties for the Shootout's boys basketball tournament. The Warriors play in the Worland bracket with Wind River, Greybull, Powell, Riverside, Glenrock, Lander and Rocky Mountain. On the Thermopolis side will be the Bobcats, Lovell, Cody, Shoshoni, Wyoming Indian, Burlington, Buffalo and Wright.

The Lady Warriors travel to Cowley to play the Shootout's girls basketball tournament at Rocky Mountain High School. Competing alongside the Lady Warriors at Rocky Mountain are Powell, Greybull, Rocky Mountain, Burlington, Riverside, Wind River and Glenrock. In the Lovell bracket are Cody, Thermopolis, Lovell, Buffalo, Lander, Shoshoni, Wyoming Indian and Wright.

LADY WARRIORS

Heading into the Christmas break the Lady Warriors dropped their first two games of the 2017-18 season, first to Billings Central, 54-29, then to Cody, 48-27.

"We've made a few adjustments, as coaches we talked about things we wanted to get done. We're on the right track, we have kids going to the right spots, we saw some things on film that we can be better at and I think it will all be beneficial down the road," said WHS girls basketball coach Ben Hofmann.

Led by seniors Saige Jones, Jaycee Page and Casey Wassum the Lady Warriors commitment to rectifying their 0-2 start to the season has been the sole focus for the tight-knit group.

"We took last week off and picked it back up again this week. They're ready to go, starting the season with two losses and we're wanting to correct that. They're working hard and understanding the importance of this stretch of games we have coming out of the break.

"Our seniors have looked really good and been leading by example. Jaycee [Page] has looked good coming off the break and Saige [Jones] and Casey [Wassum] have been really good leaders. This group of girls get along really well, they show up to practice work hard together and we'll get done with practice at 10 but they're still in the gym hanging out. They're a close group and that's certainly a positive," said Hofmann.

In their two losses, Worland executed well on offense often finding the open shooter, but struggled to finish those possessions with points, whether those shots were taken inside or out. This is why this week's goal for the Shootout will be to finish those offensive possessions with points on the board.

"We have to finish at the rim. Our shooting percentage is not great. We really need to finish and concentrate. We're getting good shots in the offense but we're not ending it with a bucket. We want to rebound the basketball and push the basketball and those will certainly be the focal points for this weekend," said Hofmann.

The Lady Warriors open the Shootout against Riverside at 1:30 p.m. at Rocky Mountain High School.

WARRIORS

The Warriors also entered the Christmas break 0-2 with losses to Cody, 73-49, and Billings Central, 67-37. Since then Worland has been hard at work using any available court time to correct the errors that led to those two losses.

"We didn't take a lot of time off, we had a three-day weekend for the wrestling tournament, then another three-day weekend for Christmas, but other than that we've been practicing every day. We kept our nose to the grindstone and the schedule has posed some challenges for us, going a month between games," said WHS boys basketball coach Aaron Abel.

Having close to a month off between games, it is easy for players to lose focus and take a few shortcuts, instead, the Warriors upped their commitment to improving. One of the players who displayed that commitment was junior Andrew Edholm, who stayed in Worland to practice while his family spent the break in Utah.

"We had some kids who were extremely dedicated. Andrew Edholm gave up a family trip to Utah so he can continue practicing and improving. That dedication stands out, he's a lot better and I think we have a lot of individuals that have gotten better and we'll probably see some lineup changes out of the break," said Abel.

Wins will be the goal this weekend, ultimately though the Warriors are just excited to be back out on the court and competing.

"It's just going to be good to play again, shake some rust off and get on the court against another team. It's really hard to keep kids motivated when in the middle of the season you go a month without playing a game. That's been a challenge for our team and for all of us as coaches.

"So to take that time off and get back on the court that's going to be a big reward for our kids in itself. They've done a great job of practicing hard when you don't have the games at the end of the week to have some to work toward. So hopefully we can just enjoy the fact we're playing games again," said Abel.

Worland opens the Shootout against the Glenrock Herders at 12:30 p.m. at Worland High School.

"Our first game in this tournament will be against Glenrock, a team that's played eight games already. We're at a big disadvantage as far as our schedule goes but we're going to try and make the most of it," said Abel.