Coach Travis Baumann said, “The Lady Pioneers season ended last weekend at the District 9C tournament. The girls fought hard all weekend but close loses to Box Elder and Fort Benton ended their season. They showed resilience and a lot of heart during the tournament. Down two key players from last year’s District squad (Terry and Wagoner both out with ACL tears) the girls battled and never quit. We will miss our four Seniors and the leadership they brought on and off the court, and we thank them for everything they have done to help change the program! The future looks bright for Lady Pioneer Basketball.”
The Lady Pioneers started tournament action against the Lady Bears, losing 44-52. Their first game was Wednesday evening. It did not start the way they had hoped. The Lady Pioneers struggled from the floor early without senior starting guard Eva Wagoner. Call it poor shooting or 1st game tourney jitters; the Lady Pioneers were 2-15 from the floor in the 1st quarter, scoring their first points via free-throws halfway through the 1st quarter. The Lady Bears also struggled after scoring a quick few points. Both teams only scored 7 points, going into the second quarter tied.
Eva Yeadon had a big 2nd quarter to put a spark in the Lady Pioneers, so much, so that Box Elder changed their defense to just put an isolated defender on her. Bonus free-throws were being shot early, causing a slower quarter of play. The Lady Pioneers ' great hustle and pressure defense was challenging for the Lady Bears. The quarter was back and forth with lead changes, but the Lady Bears had a great hustle play for a 3-pointer to end the half, leading Big Sandy by 5 points going into halftime.
With the Lady Bears’ defensive strategy and some offensive plays, they started to pull away from the Lady Pioneers. After two crucial turnovers by the Lady Pioneers and an 8-0 run by the Lady Bears, put Box Elder in the driver’s seat going into the last stanza up 16 points.
The Lady Pioneers showed true grit, made a final push in the last quarter, and got within 8 points after a Malaysia Bauman 3-pointer to end the game. The Lady Pioneers fell just short of the Lady Bears with a final score of 44-52.
They won in a loser-out action 56-33 the next game. Against the Turner Tornadoes, the Big Sandy Pioneers started with two quick fouls early Thursday morning. The Lady Pioneers saw great defense from Mattie Gasvoda, with two great steals leading to scores for the Lady Pioneers. Big Sandy also showed tremendous ball pressure, getting Turner not to be able to get into a flow offensively. Angie Sant had some great rebounds, putbacks, and some great takes from Eva Yeadon. The Lady Pioneers went into the 2nd quarter up by 1, with a score of 10-9.
The Lady Pioneers came out ready to play in the 2nd quarter and got some great offensive plays and buckets scores from Yeadon, Sant, and Keia Galbavy. The Lady Pioneers outscored the Lady Tornados 19-9 in the 2nd quarter due to great takes from the Lady Pioneers and poor shooting from the Lady Tornadoes. Big Sandy went into halftime up by 9 with a score of 29-18.
The Lady Pioneers came out of the half, ready to play, and put the Lady Tornadoes away. Sant started the Lady Pioneers out with some big buckets and a 3-pointer from Mattie Gasvoda. Gasvoda also had a great pass to Sant for another 2 points extending the lead to 18 points for the Lady Pioneers.
The Lady Tornadoes came out in the 4th quarter playing with a scene of urgency, and the refs let both teams play aggressively. The Lady Tornadoes tried everything they could but couldn’t close the gap, and they lost out in loser-out action to the Lady Pioneers by 17 points with a score of 56-33.
The Lady Pioneers faced the Lady Longhorns in the elimination round, hoping for a chance for 3rd place. They lost 36-44. Both teams struggled, in the beginning, trying to score. The game’s first point came from Angie Sant at the free-throw line two and a half minutes in. The first bucket scored was from Fort Benton halfway through the first quarter. Keira Galbavy scored on an out-of-bounds play, and Eva Yeadon scored on a jumper. Jai Baumann and Sant both tool charges in the first quarter, but the Lady Longhorns scored two back-to-back fast break layups and ended the first quarter beating the Lady Pioneers by 6 points.
The Lady Pioneers struggled with turnovers in the 2nd quarter allowing the Lady Longhorns several opportunities to run away with the game. Big Sandy only scored 4 points to Fort Bentons’ 10 points. Mattie Gasvoda got a nice steal and bucket on an inbound play from Fort Benton. The Lady Pioneers went into halftime down 9-21.
The Lady Pioneers came out of halftime a little rough around the edges, but after 3 minutes in, they started clicking as a team. After a Baumann steal to Galbavy’s bucket, a 3-pointer from Baumann, and great pressure from Big Sandy’s defense, the Lady Pioneers had the spark they needed. Yeadon had 3 back to back buckets, including a 3-pointer to put the Lady Pioneers within 9 points after a Lady Longhorn buzzer shot.
Yeadon started the last quarter with a nice step-back bucket, and Galbavy knocked down a free-throw to put the Lady Pioneers within 6 points. Fort Benton scored on a 3-pointer and jumper in the middle to stretch the lead. But the Lady Pioneers gave it all they got and got a nice rebound and bucket from Sant, a floater from Baumann, another Sant post move, and a Galbavy bucket; the Lady Pioneers had got within 3 points with just a small amount of time left on the clock. Forced to foul to try and win the ball game, the Lady Longhorns knocked down their free-throws. The Lady Pioneers lost the game by 7 points, with a final score of 36-44.
