Three more wins for Lady Bulldogs

Lady Bulldogs

Another busy week for the Sundance girls' basketball team as they hosted the Big Horn Rams, Wright Panthers and Tongue River Eagles throughout the week. Facing off against the Rams on Tuesday afternoon, the Lady Bulldogs got to play in front of a "younger" crowd with many of the elementary students in attendance.

The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter of play and kept the Lady Rams at bay for the rest of the game, ending the afternoon with a 41-28 victory.

Friday afternoon brought another conference team, the Wright Lady Panthers, to town. The Lady Bulldogs had seen the Panthers just a few weeks before and walked away with an easy 54-14 victory. Friday afternoon brought the same results. 

Opening the game with some full court pressure, the Lady Bulldogs capitalized on the Panthers' turnovers and took an early lead behind the three-point shooting of Zoe Skeens. As the game progressed, Sundance added to their lead while the Lady Panthers struggled with fouls.

Wright sent the Lady Bulldogs to the line 26 times and Sundance was able to capitalize, shooting 69% from the line. Cana McInerney was the top shooter, going 8 for 10 from behind the line and scoring 14 points for the night. In the end, the Lady Bulldogs added another conference win to their record beating the Panthers 46-34.

The final matchup of the busy week brought the 7-10 Tongue River Eagles to town. Hoping to move up in the conference standings, the Lady Eagles were ready to play.

The first ones on the board, the Lady Eagles seemed to be dominating both ends of the court as they secured both the offensive and defensive rebounds early in the game. With just under two minutes of play remaining in the first quarter, the Lady Bulldog defense came alive and forced a five second call on the Lady Eagles.

This invigorated the team as they went on a 14-0 scoring run into the second quarter. The Lady Eagles were not able to recover, turning the ball over multiple times under the Lady Bulldogs' press.

The Hofland sisters led the team in scoring, putting in a combined 27 points and securing 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs as they rounded out their weekend play with a 43-34 victory over the Tongue River Lady Eagles. 

The Lady Bulldogs move to a 11-7 overall and 5-1 conference record for the season and will travel to face the Big Horn Lady Rams on Saturday this week.

Bulldog Boys

The Sundance boys basketball team had a tough week going up against three determined conference teams in Big Horn, Wright and Tongue River. All four teams are vying for top positions in the conference standings. 

Opening play on Tuesday afternoon against the Big Horn Rams the Bulldogs knew it was going to be a difficult game. "We just have to put trust in our teammates," Bulldog Keaton Mills stated.

The game began with two evenly matched teams trading basket for basket. However, the tides began to turn throughout the second and third quarter for the Bulldogs.

A scoring slump and foul trouble began to plague the team, making it even more difficult for the Bulldogs to put points up on the board. Sundance was able to right their ship throughout the fourth quarter, mounting a good comeback behind the triple threat scoring of Keaton Mills, Levi Rudloff and Gunner McLaughlin but time ran out before the Bulldogs were able to overtake the Rams.

"Defensively we executed," stated senior Bulldog Levi Rudloff, "but we had lots of fouls."

Brushing off the Tuesday afternoon loss, the Bulldogs prepared for another tough game against the Wright Panthers. The Panthers came into the game with a 9-7 record and had lost in the earlier meeting between the two teams.

As the game began to unfold both teams were ready to work. Each side started in a full court press on defense but looked to move the ball quickly on offense.

It was a few trips down the floor before a blocked shot and long pass by Gunner McLauglin to Jaydan Davis gave the Bulldogs a slight advantage over the Panthers. Going into the quarter break up by two, Sundance was hoping to put distance between themselves and Wright.

Unfortunately, the Panthers got familiar with the free throw line throughout the second quarter as the Bulldogs began to foul, however that familiarity didn't hurt the Bulldogs as the Panthers were only shooting 28% from the line and the Bulldogs took a one-point lead into the locker room for halftime. 

As the second half began, it was a back and forth with points and the lead with neither team going down without a fight. Just as the Bulldogs thought they could pull away, a three pointer by Grant Mills two minutes into the fourth quarter brought the Panthers back within two points of the Bulldogs, 32-34.

Another basket by the Panthers shortly thereafter tied the score at 34 and put the momentum in the hands of the Wright Panthers. Wright used their momentum, scoring a three on their next possession and taking the lead away from the Bulldogs.

The teams stayed close as the final minutes began to tick away. Down by two points with less than a minute left to play, the Bulldogs found Levi Rudloff, who sank a long three, putting Sundance up by one once again.

However, the Panthers would not be outdone. The next trip down the floor, Lane Strohschein found the basket one more time for the Panthers allowing them to take the lead and the ball game, 43-44 with only seconds remaining. 

The third and final game of the week put the Bulldogs up against the number one team in the conference, the Tongue River Eagles. Suffering two tough losses earlier in the week, the Bulldogs were hoping for a different outcome.

Unfortunately, the Eagles were on top of their game from the start and held the Bulldogs to just four points throughout the first quarter. Moving into the second quarter of play the Bulldogs began to chip away at the Eagle lead, but another scoring slump throughout the third put them at a deficit that could not be overcome and the Eagles took the 71-47 victory over the Bulldogs. 

Coach Olson reflected on the weekend play: "We played three hard-fought games this week, two of which came down to the final seconds. I'm excited about what we're building with our team and how we're coming together down the stretch. We have a chance to play against Big Horn again this week and the boys have been very focused on what we need to do. We wrap up the year with Moorcroft and Hulett, both of which should be good games against hard fought opponents. It will be interesting how the regional tournament shakes out with seeding."

The Bulldogs moved to a 10-9 overall record, 2-4 in the conference. They will travel to Big Horn this weekend to face the Rams in another conference matchup on Saturday. 

Stats

SHS Girls vs. Big Horn: 41-28

Scoring: Skeens 12 (4/4 FT, 0/4 3pt), Br. Hofland 9 (4/6 FT, 1/3 FT), Banker 5 (1/2 FT), Ba. Hofland 4 (0/2 FT, 0/1 3pt), McInerney 4 (0/2 FT, 0/2 3pt) Williams 3 (1/2 FT, 0/1 3pt), Gillespie 2, L. Marchant 2 (0/2 FT)

Rebound Leaders: Skeens 7, McInerney 7, Banker 5, Jones 5

Assists: McInerney 3, R. Marchant 2

Steals: McInerney 5, Gillespie 3, Br. Hofland 3

SHS Girls vs. Wright: 46-34

Scoring: McInerney 14 (8/10 FT, 0/4 3pt), Skeens 11 (3/4 FT, 2/6 3pt), Ba. Hofland 10 (2/4 FT), Br. Hofland 5 (1/2 FT, 0/1 3pt), Banker 5 (1/2 FT), L.Marchant 3 (3/4 FT)

Rebound Leaders: Gillespie 7, Br. Hofland 5, L.Marchant 4, Ba. Hofland 4

Assists: McInerney 3, Gillespie 2

Steals: Mcinerney 7, Br. Hofland 3

SHS Girls vs. Tongue River: 43-34

Scoring: Ba. Hofland 17 (1/4 FT), Br. Hofland 10 (3/4 FT, 1/2 3pt) McInerney 8 (4/5 FT, 0/3 3pt), Skeens 5 (1/2 3pt), R. Marchant 2 (0/2 FT), L. Marchant 2 (2/2 FT)

Rebound Leaders: Br. Hofland 6, Ba. Hofland 5, McInerney 5

Assists: McInerney 6

Steals: McInerney 4

Blocks: McInerney 3, L. Marchant 2

SHS Boys vs. Tongue River: 47-71

Scoring: McLaughlin 15 (7/10 FT, 0/4 3pt), Mills 11 (0/1FT, 1/5 3pt), Davis 7 (0/4 FT, 1/3 3pt), Rudloff 5 (3/7 FT, 0/1 3pt) Gill 5 (1/1 3pt), Fleenor 2, Schommer 1 (1/2 FT), Harmon 1 (1/2 FT)

Rebound Leaders: Mills 11, McLaughlin 7

Steals: McLaughlin 3, Davis 2

Assists: Mills 3, McLaughlin 3

Blocks: Mills 2

SHS Boys vs. Wright: 43-44 

Scoring: McLaughlin 12 (0/2 FT, 0/3 3pt), Mills 10 (1/2 FT, 1/5 3pt), Rudloff 10 (1/2 FT, 3/8 3pt), Davis 8 (0/3 3pt), Fleenor 3 (1/1 FT)

Rebound Leaders: Mills 10, McLaughlin 7, Davis 7

Steals: Mills 2

Assists: Rudloff 4, Mills 3

SHS Boys vs. Big Horn: 44-51

Scoring: Mills 16 (0/1 FT, 2/6 3pt), Rudloff 16 (2/2 FT, 2/6 3pt), McLaughlin 10 (0/1 3pt), Harmon 2 (0/1 FT)

Rebound Leaders: Mills 10, Rudloff 6

Steals: Rudloff 7

Assists: Mills 4, Rudloff 3