Lady Bulldogs finish season at Regionals

Sundance vs. Southeast

The Sundance girls’ basketball season came to a close this past weekend as the Lady Bulldogs fell to the Southeast Cyclones and the Wright Panthers, ending their hopes of a repeat state tournament appearance.

Going up against the number one seed from the Southeast wasn’t going to be an easy feat. A rough first quarter put the Bulldogs down 4-10 to the Cyclones and found them playing catch up once again. The Lady Bulldogs were able to close the gap to eight, 16-24, as the first half came to a close.

The third quarter saw both teams struggling to put points on the board, scoring a combined total of six points, as both Sundance and Southeast hit a scoring slump. The final eight minutes saw the Bulldogs come close, but fall just short of the Southeast Cyclones, losing round one of the regional tournament, 29-40.

Sundance vs. Wright

Round two came and the Lady Bulldogs were up against an all-too-familiar rival, the Wright Panthers. Needing a win to keep the state tourney bid alive, the Bulldogs came ready to play. Led behind the scoring duo of Sherri Negaard and Madison Gill, the Bulldogs found themselves up by 1 at half time 18-17.

While the Wright Panthers came out of the break determined to beat the Bulldogs for the third time this season, the Bulldogs were not going down without a fight. In a back and forth second half, the Panthers and Bulldogs fought for control of the rebounds as well as the score.

Senior Madison Gill was able to help the Bulldogs in both aspects as she pulled down eight rebounds on the night and chipped in 10 points, Sherri Negaard was also able to secure five rebounds and 15 points. In the end, the Wright Panthers came out with the 46-41 victory.

“We had a chance to upset both teams.” Sundance coach Joni Ellsbury said. “We did everything right against Wright, we just struggled at the free throw line. We can’t miss 15 free throws and expect to upset a top team.”

Coach Ellsbury was very happy with the improvement from the beginning of the year to the end. She is looking forward to the off season as she hopes to see continued improvement with this group.

The Sundance Lady Bulldogs ended their 2018-2019 season with an 8-15 record.

Stats from the game:

Sundance vs. Southeast

Scoring: McInerney 12 (2/2FT), M.Gill 8, Negaard 4 (2/2FT), A.Marchant 3 (1/2FT), N.Gill 2

Rebound Leaders: A. Marchant 4, M. Gill 4

Steal Leaders: A. Marchant 4

Sundance vs. Wright

Scoring: Negaard 15 (6/10 FT), M. Gill 10 (4/9 FT), Br. Hofland 6 (2/2FT), McInerney 4, A. Marchant 3 (1/2FT), N.Gill 2 (0/2 FT), T.Marchant 1 (1/3FT),

Rebound Leaders: M.Gill 8, McInerney 5, Br. Hofland 5, Negaard 5