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WORLAND - The Worland Lady Warriors (5-3) size inside wore down a scrappy and hardnosed Hot Springs County High School Lady Bobcats (5-7) for a 57-33 win Thursday night at Worland High School.

The Lady Warriors had a fight on their hands from the tip as the Lady 'Cats went right at the defending 3A champs. Thanks in part senior Korey Smith, who hit a 3-pointer and a mid-range shot, Thermopolis led the Lady Warriors 7-4.

However, Worland would answer by going inside to senior Charlee Townsend for a bucket off an assist from freshman BreAnna Parra. Then senior Lyndzi Rich found fellow senior Bailey Gibbons for an easy score during a fast break and in the final second of the of the first quarter junior Jayce Page hit a shot from the elbow to give her team a 10-8 lead.

Starting the second quarter Smith connected from the short corner to tie the game at 10-all but afterwards Rich went on a 7-0 scoring run. From that point on Worland would hold the lead and not look back.

"I thought we were slow offensively to start but we picked it up, especially in the second half," said WHS girls basketball coach Ben Hofmann. "Defensively I thought we were there from quarter one to quarter four, the kids played very hard. We had a couple lapses on the boards but for the most part we played really well."

Thermopolis would pull closer at the end of the second quarter and early in the third but the Lady Warriors size inside was too much and the Lady 'Cats shooting went cold in the fourth.

"Their size really bothered us," said HSCHS girls basketball coach Cory Sova. "We did a good job of slowing them down somewhat. I thought if a couple of our shots that rimmed out had fallen in we would have been right there. But give Worland credit it's hard to get inside against them and their interior defense. The fight was there and we had a couple of bad minutes in the first half. In the third quarter we hung around but the fourth hurt us."

For Worland it looks like the team is establishing an identity and the players are settling into their roles.

"I think we're all settling in, myself included. Everyone is able to contribute quality minutes wherever they are needed, bench or starters. Coach Lissy (Hughes) and I are getting a better feel for what we're doing and what the girls can do and their capabilities. They're working hard and we're getting closer to playing to our potential," said coach Hofamnn.

For coach Sova and his team, it's about staying on the path of improvement and eventually those shots that rim out will begin to fall.

"I thought we moved the ball really well. We just have to keep fighting and find a way to get to the free-throw line more than four times. If we're not hitting from the outside it's tough playing against taller teams," said coach Sova when recapping his team's performance. "They didn't like to see the scoreboard the way it was, they're a competitive bunch. It was probably a closer game than the score showed but our goal was to learn. We play them again in three weeks, on senior night, and hopefully we're an improved team."

The Lady Warriors will be on the road tonight at 5:30 p.m. vs. 3A East conference opponent the Rawlins Lady Outlaws.

"They look tough. They're really aggressive and play physical basketball. They're not real big, they have some shooters who are capable of hitting the 3-pointer. We have to be aware of their shooters and, again, we have to play well defensively, handle their pressure they're going to give us. If we do those things we'll be OK but they're certainly going to give us some quality competition tomorrow," said coach Hofmann.

Thermopolis plays Buffalo at 5:30 p.m. tonight at home to close out the week's scheduled games.

"If they're on they can be really good. They're not as tall as Worland but they still have height. They're a really good 5-5 because they've played a tough schedule. We'll have our hands full, so we're going to come out and play hard and see what we can get done," said coach Sova.