News you can use
News you can use
Pioneers ground T-Birds, setting up huge semifinal with North Star tonight
Big Sandy's Shelby Gasvoda, left, goes in for a shot against a Hays-Lodge Pole defender during Wednesday night's 9C girls first-round game at the HHS gymnasium. The Pioneers won and will play North Star tonight at 6:30 for a spot in Saturday's championship game.
Hays-Lodge Pole's Cory Carrywater races up the floor during Wednesday night's girls game at the HHS gymnasium.
HLP's Treaunna Stiffarm, left, drives the ball during Wednesday night's 9C girls game at the HHS gymnasium.
Big sandy senior Brooke Leader goes in for a layup in the Pioneers' win over HLP in the first round of the 9C girls tournament Wednesday night in Havre.
There was a trend of dominating wins and lopsided losses on the first day of the District 9C tournament in Havre, and Big Sandy and Hays Lodge-Pole were on opposite ends of the spectrum.
In girls action, the Pioneers defeated the Thunderbirds 65-17 Wednesday in the first round.
And like so many of the other blowouts, the Pioneers were in complete control right from the start. Big Sandy won the tip and raced off to an impressive 28-0 lead after the first quarter and a 38-10 lead at intermission. The end result was a running-clock win for a Pioneers’ team that repeatedly scored uncontested and fast break layups. Molly Herron scored 12 points in the first quarter for the Pioneers and all six buckets came on layups created by turnovers.
Herron finished the game with a game-high 20 points on 10-of-12 shooting. Herron also had nine steals, while the Pioneers forced the Thunderbirds into 43 turnovers. Big Sandy scored 42 points off said turnovers. Abby Gregory scored 10 points, while Shelby Gasvoda and Brooke Leader each scored eight points. Big Sandy also shot just over 45 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3-point range.
“I wanted to push the ball up the floor,” Big Sandy head coach Serena Cator said. “I like a fast-paced game. I also like the girls, once they break a defense, to slow down mentally, but Hays is a tough team and they made it tough on us at times. They play really good defense so it is hard to decide to push it, or to set something up. But we saw we could push the ball, so we did, and that always feels good for the girls to get a steal and an easy basket.”
With just six girls suited up, the Thunderbirds were simply outmatched.
The first HLP (0-19) bucket came at the 7:37 mark in the second quarter, a Shania Doney hoop. But starting at the 4:17 mark, the Thunderbirds had a nice little stretch. Miquela Perez got a bucket inside, while Tia Zander followed with a bucket of her own before another by Perez. The score was still lopsided at 38-8, but the Thunderbirds scored buckets on three consecutive possessions while continuing to fight.
Perez finished with six points, while Doney finished with five. Tia Zander also scored four.
With the win, the Pioneers (11-8) now must prepare for a game against North Star tonight in the semifinal round at 6:30. And the Pioneers are looking to have another up-tempo showing against the Knights.
“I hope we can,” coach Cator said. “North Star is a tough team and we were in this same boat this time last year. We are hoping for a win, but so is North Star, so it is going to be a battle.”
Big Sandy 65, Hays-Lodge Pole 17
HLP 0 10 5 2 – 17
Big Sandy 28 10 21 6 – 65
HLP – Shania Doney 2-8 1-4 5, Darrellyn BlackWolf 0-2 2-2 2, Cory Carrywater 0-4 0-0 0, Treaunna Stiffarm 0-7 0-0 0, Tia Zander 2-3 0-2 4, Miuela Perez 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 7-28 3-8 17.
Big Sandy – Brooke Leader 4-10 0-0 8, Molly Herron 10-12 0-0 20, Cheyenne Peger 0-3 0-0 0, Kiah Wilson 2-4 0-1 4, Cheyenne Johnson 2-10 0-0 4, Abby Gregory 4-8 2-2 10, Shelby Gasvoda 3-8 1-4 8, Maddy Reichelt 2-5 0-0 4, Kylie Cline 3-4 0-0 0, Michelle Maxwell 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 30-66 3-7 65.
3-pointers: HLP 0-7, Big Sandy 2-6 (Gasvoda 1, Cline 1); Rebounds: HLP 27 (Perez 9, Doney 8), Big Sandy 32 (Herron 6, Reichelt 6); Fouls: HLP 10, Big Sandy 13; Fouled out – Carrywater.
Reader Comments(0)