The Lady Pioneers played three games this past week. They played DGSG on Tuesday, Hays on Friday, and North Star on Saturday. This is the last week of games before Districts in Havre. Friday night is senior night at the Big Sandy gym, and Saturday is away at Box Elder. Keep an eye open for those tournament brackets.
The Lady first played DGSG on Tuesday and started with some tough defense that shook up DGSG’s offense a bit and the Lady Pioneers had several steals in the first quarter but didn’t score until 6 minutes had run off the clock. They went into the 2nd quarter down 4-9. In the 2nd quarter, DGSG went on a 9-0 in the first 3 minutes, but after some steals, a big 3-pointer, and takes to the basket, the Lady Pioneers went on a 13-8 run, but unfortunately were still down 13 points going into halftime. The second half started with a tremendous backdoor score and a defensive block, but DGSG continued their hot streak and outscored the Lady Pioneers 17-6. In the last quarter, the Pioneers Eva Yeadon scored 12 of the Lady Pioneers 16 points, but the Lady Pioneers couldn’t quite close the gap and ended up losing by 28 points with a final score of 41-69. The Lady Pioneers had great offensive scores, defensive stops by Jai Baumann, Jenny Sant, Kenzie Kallenberger, and Eva Yeadon, and a rebound by Alex Worral and Genavieve Nissen. I don’t have any stats to share from that game, but the following two game summaries will include stats.
The Lady Pioneers then played Hays at home, and it was a battle back and forth, trading buckets, stops, and rebounds. After the first quarter, the game was tied 12-12 with a 3-pointer from Elaina Weaver and Brianna Terry. Jenny Sant contributed with two made layups, and Eva Yeadon with a free throw.
The 2nd quarter was more of the same, with the Lady Pioneers scoring 11 points and Hays scoring 10, with a 3-pointer from Kenzie Kallenbeger, Jenny coast to coast layup, and free throws from Jai, Eva, and Kenzie. The score at halftime was 23-22.
The Lady Pioneers then went on a 12-0 run, scoring 20 points and putting them up by 14 points going into the fourth quarter. The Lady Pioneers had some great hustle plays and great pressure defense and pulled ahead of Hays, ending up winning by 15 points. The Lady Pioneers had some great support from other teammates, including a great jumper from Genevieve and a rebound and putback. She also assisted Jai for a 3-pointer. The final score was 55-40.
Team Stats vs Hays: Rebounds: 45, with Eva having 18; Free throws: 15/20; Assists: 12, with Jai having 6; Steals: 7, with Jai and Jenny having 2 each; and Turnovers: 14
The last game the Lady Pioneers played was on Saturday against North Star. This was a fast-paced, aggressive game, with both teams leaving it all out there on defense and offense. The Lady Pioneers were up by 7 points going into the second quarter, and as soon as North Star got within distance to close the gap, the Lady Pioneers pulled away. They went into halftime up by 12 points with a score of 30-22.
North Star pulled within 5 points in the second half, but the Lady Pioneer knocked down some great shots and got some crucial steals, pulling ahead by 9 points going into the final quarter. The Lady Pioneers won the game by 10 points, 69-59.
Team Stats: Rebounds: 28, with Eva having 14; Free throws: 20/33; Assists: 13, with Jai having 6; Steals: 19, with Eva having 7; and Turnovers: 15
Coach Travis’s thoughts about the past week: “After a tough three-game stretch with losses to CJI and back-to-back losses to DGS, the Lady Pioneers got back on track against Hays Lodgepole. Winning the game 55-40. We won the rebound battle 40-24 and had 14 assists on 19 made field goals for a 74% assist rate. Yeadon led the team with 15 points, followed by Kallenberger with 12 and Baumann with 9. Yeadon led the team with rebounds with 14, followed by Worrall with 7 and Weaver and Kallenberger with 5. Baumann led the team with six assists, followed by Yeadon with 3 and Sant with 2. Sant and Baumann led the team with 2 steals apiece.”
“The following night, we went to Gildford to play the Lady Knights. It was a very good game, with the Lady Pioneers coming out on top 69-59. The Lady Pioneers were in foul trouble from the get-go, yet they showed a lot of resilience and kept battling. The bench came in and played great. Bri Terry and Sammy Bjornstad led the defensive charge. Baumann led the offensive charge with 27, while Yeadon and Kallenberger each added 11, followed by Worrall with 8.”
“Next week, the Lady Pioneers take on Fort Benton on Friday at home for Senior Night and then go on the road to finish the regular season on Saturday, when they play the Lady Bears of Box Elder.”
