The Big Sandy girls concluded a winless regular season Saturday on the hardwood but went out with their best offensive production over the course of a weekend.
The Pioneers have had to battle to eclipse the 30-point mark this season but hit it Friday in a 64-30 defeat at District 9C power Turner.
In a balanced offensive effort, every player who got on the court for Big Sandy scored. Eva Wagoner led the way with 8 points, followed by Jaihven Baumman with 6, Madison Terry with 5, Angie Sant with 3 and a pair each from Jaycee Worrall, Lainey Terry, Mattie Gasvoda and Amy Gasvoda.
In their final home game for this season, Big Sandy hosted Hays-Lodgepole and fell 71-28.
The Pioneers came out of the gates as the aggressors with senior Lily Winderl winning the opening tip and Amy Gasvoda scooping it up to score first. Kassi Perez answered on the other end for the Thunderbirds. Wagoner's ensuing layup hung precariously on the rim before it sank and gave Big Sandy their final lead of 4-2 with 6 minutes, 37 seconds remaining in the first quarter. From there, the T-Birds went to the full-court press, which taller teams have used to bedevil Big Sandy all year long.
"Hays is tall. They've got long arms and you're not going to get the ball over them," Pioneers coach Pete Jerrel said. "We've got to work better to throw passes around people instead of trying to go up over the top of them."
The press helped Hays stake out a 27-0 run and never look back. Senior Madison Terry put back an offensive rebound with about 2 minutes left in the first quarter to break the drought but by then, the damage was done.
Big Sandy shot the ball better than it has throughout much of the season, though, and again found contributions from nearly everyone. Lainey Terry led the Pioneers with 6 points and Daisy LaBuda added 5 (including a three-pointer). Seniors Winderl and Madison Terry each tallied 4 points, as did eighth grader Baumann. Mattie Gasvoda connected on a three-pointer and Amy Gasvoda added a deuce.
Then there are the efforts that don't show up on the scoreboard.
"Jaycee made some beautiful passes down low," Jerrel said. "She did all the little things tonight that get overlooked ... she did a great job tonight of helping everybody out and getting some pressure on the ball and trying to create a turnover and get things going our way."
Her pass to Lainey Terry for an assist that set her up nicely for a bucket from the low block early in the fourth quarter stood out. She could also be seen communicating with her teammates to set up transition defense and chasing after loose balls, which several Pioneers scrambled successfully to do throughout the game.
Baumann turned steals into points for Big Sandy at the other end.
"Jai's been playing better each week and she's somebody who can handle the ball and shoot," Jerrel said. "She comes in and plays good D often times."
The Pioneers were expected at press time to be opening the District 9C tournament Tuesday at top-seed and state championship favorite Fort Benton.
The Longhorns have run all over Big Sandy in two regular season meetings.
"We've got to not let their press get to us so bad they get that big lead on us," Jerrel said. "Then control the ball and get some good shots."
Tournament play will help a team loaded with eight graders and sophomores mature into becoming more experienced juniors and freshmen, the coach said.
"If they can put in the work in the offseason, they can be very good," he added.
