Wyoming
Takeaways from Texas Tech's dominant 96-49 win over Wyoming
Takeaways from Texas Tech’s dominant 96-49 win over Wyoming
Texas Tech basketball got revenge from last season’s football blunder in Laramie, downing Wyoming by a massive margin, 96-49, Monday night at the United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock.
Here are the initial takeaways from the action…
Hawkins, Anderson make Texas Tech debuts
It might have taken two games, but the Red Raiders were finally able to experience the joys of having a point guard on the floor again, doubly, in fact.
After missing Tech’s first two contests with lower body injuries, both Minnesota transfer Elijah Hawkins and Oak Hill true freshman Christian Anderson donned the scarlet and black against Wyoming.
The impact of both was felt immediately on both ends of the floor. Hawkins brought a new flair and tempo to the offense that had yet to be seen, while Anderson contributed 9 points as an efficient operator in his own right.
Where their impacts were felt the most, however, was perhaps on the defensive side of the court. Both Hawkins and Anderson proved to be active defenders and their contributions help aid the steady flow of rotations that kept fresh legs on the court at all times.
Defense takes significant step forward
Scoring the ball will likely never be this Texas Tech team’s biggest issue this season. The Red Raiders are hard-wired to score at all three levels behind a bevy of guards who can score on the perimeter, a big in Jadyn Toppin who has a soft hook down low and a guy like Darrion Williams who can will himself to score anywhere.
Defensive is where the cracks have appeared, but Wednesday’s action was a step in the right direction for the Red Raiders.
Through a combination of Wyoming’s lack of a true flow on offense and a revitalized aggressiveness from the Red Raiders, the Cowboys were dysfunctional in Lubbock.
To end the first half of action, Wyoming had turned the ball over nearly as many times as it had gotten a shot up, giving away possession 17 times and chunking up an attempt 19.
What made the difference was Hawkins and Anderson being available for Tech, with Grant McCasland and his staff able to mix up lineups and get a true feel for what the team looks like in game settings.
Toppin records first Red Raider double-double
Jadyn Toppin is the kind of player who elevates a team’s ceiling when the calendar turns to the third month of the year.
The sophomore had already turned in a pair of stellar performances, but followed those up with his first double-double in a Texas Tech jersey against the Cowboys. Toppin ended the first half with 16 points and 8 rebounds, snagging the mark early in the second half of action.
The Dallas native’s strongest asset is his left-handed hook shot, a mix of both his finesse and ability to move defenders in the paint.
In all, Toppin finished with 24 points on 10-for-15 shooting and 12 points, looking dominant again down low.
Tech moves to 3-0, look to conclude homestand v. Arkansas-Pine Bluff
After a lackluster showing against Northwestern State that was more so the by-product of a lack of bodies, the Red Raiders finally got a taste of what this team’s true self looks like.
To say getting Hawkins and Anderson back is significant would be an understatement.
A 23-4 run across five minutes near the end of the second half put the game even further out of reach than it had been and the Red Raiders cruised onto victory No. 3.
Up next on the slate is the last of Tech’s four-game homestand, welcoming Arkansas-Pine Bluff to the confines of the 806. After that, the Red Raiders will travel to Brooklyn to take part in the Legend’s Classic against St. Joe’s, with a matchup against old conference foe Texas in the realm of possibilities.
CASPER, Wyo. — High school athletics in Wyoming could see some drastic changes in the coming years following legislative changes to the state’s education budget, the Wyoming High School Activities Association recently announced in a statement.
According to the WHSAA, Wyoming school districts are facing a projected $3.9 million shortfall in activities funding, forcing officials to consider significant cuts to high school sports and extracurricular programs.
The WHSAA shared details regarding a new “silo” funding model implemented by the Legislature, stating that the recalibrated block grant model reduced funding for student activities and extra-duty responsibilities from $46.3 million to $42.4 million, an approximately 8.4% decrease statewide.
WHSAA Commissioner Trevor Wilson said the restructuring also restricts district access to an additional $76.2 million in previously flexible funding.
“A significant portion of the [April 28 WHSAA Board of Directors] meeting was dedicated to discussing the projected funding shortfall,” Wilson wrote.
The WHSAA is weighing several strategies to address rising costs with fewer resources. Proposed changes include eliminating regional tournaments and reducing the number of teams qualifying for state events from eight to four; limiting wrestling to two classes and restricting track and field state participants to the top 16 marks; making cuts to soccer, indoor track and field, Nordic and Alpine skiing, swimming and diving, spring golf and tennis; and reducing in-person speech and debate events by half and centrally locating All-State Music events to minimize travel. The board also recommended increasing gate admission or implementing student participation fees to offset costs.
While the WHSAA release states that no plans have been finalized and the various changes are currently just possibilities, Natrona County School District 1 Board of Trustees member Mary Schmidt criticized the WHSAA’s handling of the news at Monday’s board meeting.
“I take some issues with this, [including] the sheer fact that we as Board of Trustees members have not talked about that at all,” Schmidt said. “It is not our intent and it has not been brought to us to cut our athletics or activities budget for the upcoming school year. … I take issue with them picking sports and getting the community upset and ginning them up to be upset that this is all going to be cut when that hasn’t been discussed.”
Later in the meeting, Superintendent Angela Hensley clarified that Natrona County School District 1’s athletics and activities budget saw a reduction of roughly $550,000 in the coming year’s budget, but said the local school district does not plan to cut any sports.
“Thank you, Trustee Schmidt, for saying this, because I think people are wondering — we are not planning to cut athletics and activities for next year,” Hensley said. “We do have to take a look at our entire budget as we have talked about, as we learn more about these new rules that come in.”
Related
Republished with permission from Wyoming News Now, a TV news outlet covering the Cheyenne and Casper areas.
Cheyenne City Council has introduced a temporary moratorium, or pause, on new data center construction.
“The end goal is to actually have regulations in place, to have really heavy public involvement with this with data centers,” said Councilman Mark Moody.
The proposed ordinance is not a permanent ban on data centers and would not affect data centers currently under construction.
Councilman Moody says this is a bipartisan issue.
“I just want to make this clear, I’m not against data centers. We do need them from a national security perspective,” he said.
He said there needs to be more public input and regulations regarding data centers in Cheyenne.
The ordinance would require city staff to study data center impacts such as electricity usage, electricity tariffs, closed-loop cooling systems, groundwater impacts, agricultural impacts, and land value.
Cheyenne LEADS, the economic development corporation for Cheyenne and Laramie County, reported in November 2025 that there are 12 operational data centers in Wyoming, five under construction and plans for 43 data centers announced across the state.
“There needs to be more public input with this, and also to see how many we can sustain here in this community, cause there are talks of 43, and then another day 70. How many can we sustain here?” said Councilman Moody.
The proposed moratorium will now go to the Public Services Committee on Monday, May 18 at noon in the Municipal Building.
Sheridan will play in the North Regional Tournament at Gillette, while the South Regional Tournament will be played at Rock Springs.
North Regional Tournament at Gillette:
Checking record vs. highest team in the quadrant not involved in the tie, Thunder Basin gets the #1 Northeast seed over Campbell County, because the Lady Bolts went 3-1 vs. Sheridan, whereas the Lady Camels went 2-2.
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 NE) Thunder Basin vs. (#4 NW) Jackson – 11am
(#2 NW) Natrona County vs. (#3 NE) Sheridan – 11am
(#2 NE) Campbell County vs. (#3 NW) Kelly Walsh – 1pm
(#1 NW) Cody vs. (#4 NE) Worland – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Thunder Basin/Jackson winner vs. Natrona County/Sheridan winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh winner vs. Cody/Worland winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Thunder Basin/Jackson loser vs. Natrona County/Sheridan loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh loser vs. Cody/Worland loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
South Regional Tournament at Rock Springs:
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 SW) Laramie vs. (#4 SE) Torrington – 11am
(#2 SE) Cheyenne East vs. (#3 SW) Green River – 11am
(#2 SW) Rock Springs vs. (#3 SE) Wheatland – 1pm
(#1 SE) Cheyenne Central vs. (#4 SW) Cheyenne South – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Laramie/Torrington winner vs. Cheyenne East/Green River winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Rock Springs/Wheatland winner vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Laramie/Torrington loser vs. Cheyenne East/Green River loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Rock Springs/Wheatland loser vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
-
New York1 hour agoQuestions Arise About Jack Schlossberg’s Readiness for Congress
-
Los Angeles, Ca1 hour agoLos Angeles releases searchable list of worst rental properties
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoMLB News & Moments: Mets Gain Much-Needed Momentum by Sweeping Detroit
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoWhere to Find Free Street Parking for Shows in San Francisco | KQED
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoDallas Stars Forward Would Be Perfect Trade Target for NY Rangers
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoJetBlue to pull out of N.H.’s largest airport amid capacity crisis, officials announce – The Boston Globe
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoDenver area events for May 15
-
Seattle, WA2 hours agoFriday Roundtable: Free Summer Shuttles