Winning weekend for basketball teams

SHS Girls

After a week off from competition, the Sundance Lady Bulldogs grabbed two wins over conference rivals the Wright Panthers and the Big Horn Rams this past weekend.

Starting fresh on Friday, the Lady Bulldogs opened up play in an aggressive full court press against the Wright Panthers. The Lady Bulldogs forced four turnovers that quickly materialized into points right out of the gate as they jumped out to an 8-2 lead.

A quick timeout called by the Panthers hoped to give them a strategy to get the ball past halfcourt, but the Bulldogs’ hands seemed to be everywhere as they continued to convert the tips and turnovers into points, taking a 16-2 lead after the first quarter. 

Sundance kept the momentum into the second quarter feeding their offense with their defensive press adding 19 more points to the board. The Panthers did manage to find their way to the basket a few times, but the Bulldogs held a 35-8 lead at the half. Aftyn Marchant led the charge for the Bulldogs with 12 points in the first two quarters. 

The Bulldog lead continued to increase throughout the second half. Adding another 9 points in the third quarter, Sundance went into the fourth with a nice cushion and were able to get playing time for all players on the bench as they walked off the court with a 51-19 victory over the Wright Panthers.

Conference game number two was against the Big Horn Rams on Saturday as the Lady Bulldogs defense continued to fuel their offense for another victory. Senior Bulldog Baillee Heaster led the offensive charge as she nailed three from behind the arc in the first half of play, helping the Bulldogs jump out to a quick and commanding 34-9 lead.

The Rams did not have an answer for the Bulldogs defense in the second half as they were held to just two points in the third quarter. Things slowed down for both sides throughout the fourth and the Bulldogs took the 46-22 victory.

With two conference wins under their belts, the Lady Bulldogs now hold a 2-0 conference record and a 3-4 overall record. The Lady Bulldogs will be busy next week as they host two more conference games against the Moorcroft Wolves on Thursday night and the Tongue River Eagles on Friday. They will also travel to face their east regional foe, the Lusk Tigers on Saturday. 

SHS Boys

The Sundance Boys basketball team took two conference victories this past weekend over the Wright Panthers and the Big Horn Rams. 

Opening play against the Panthers on Friday night, the Bulldogs took a quick 5-0 lead opening with back to back baskets by Lane Gill. This fast start prompted the Panthers to call a timeout in hopes of gaining some momentum or at least slowing the Bulldogs down.

Fortunately for the Panthers, Sundance did struggle to get another basket to fall for the next few minutes and the Panthers were able to put some points on the board. Closing the quarter with a rare low score, the Bulldogs had the 9-4 advantage. After the quarter break the Bulldogs were back on the floor, pushing the ball down the court, and finding their open man at the other end to up their score to 25 while holding their opponent to 11 at halftime.

The Bulldogs continued to increase the lead throughout the second half as three players found their way into the double digit scoring. Lane Gill led the charge, scoring 16 points for the night, followed closely by Gunner McLaughlin who contributed 15 and Landon Martin who put in 12.

 Although the Bulldog offense was something to watch, it was the defensive effort put forth by the team that helped fuel the offense and put the points on the board. With a total of 27 steals and 29 deflections for the night, the Bulldogs seemed to have a hand everywhere as they came off the court with a 57-30 victory. 

Saturday afternoon put the Bulldogs up against another conference rival, the Big Horn Rams. The opening minutes of play found the teams exchanging basket for basket until Brad Kruger found his sweet spot behind the arc to start the Bulldogs on a 10-2 run to close the quarter. The second quarter belonged to Landon Martin who seemed as though he could not miss a shot,sinking 11 of his 21 points for the Bulldogs, helping the team take a 34-26 lead into the break. 

Throughout the opening minutes of the second half the Rams began to mount a comeback. The Rams came within four points as the Bulldogs struggled to make a basket. It was Martin once again who ended the drought for Sundance as he drove the lane for a basket, was fouled and sank his shot from the free-throw line. After that, the Bulldogs slowly began to increase their lead once again to take the 58-42 conference win. 

The Sundance Bulldogs stand with a 2-0 conference record and an 8-1 record overall. The boys will play host to two more conference teams this week as the Moorcroft Wolves come to play on Thursday night and the Tongue River Eagles on Friday. The Bulldogs will end their week with an away game when they travel to Lusk on Saturday. 

Stats from the games:

SHS Girls vs. Wright 51-19

Scoring: A. Marchant 12 (2/2 FT), Ba. Hofland 8 (2/4 FT), Gill 8 (1/3 FT), McInerney 7 (1/7 FT), Negaard 6, Heaster 4, L. Marchant 4, Br. Hofland 2, 

Rebound Leaders: A. Marchant 7, McInerney 5.

Assists Leaders: Negaard 5, Heaster 3

Steal Leaders: Heaster 5, Negaard 5

SHS Girls vs. Big Horn 46-22

Scoring: Heaster 13 (3/3 3 pt.), L. Marchant 6, Ba. Hofland 6 (4/6 FT), Negaard 5 (1/3 3 pt.), McInerney 5 (1/3 FT), Gill 4 (0/5 3 pt.), Bifulco 4, Br. Hofland 3 (1/2 FT)

Rebound Leaders: L. Marchant 7, McInerney 7

Assist Leader: McInerney 3

Steal Leaders: Heaster 4, Negaard 3

SHS Boys vs. Wright 57-30

Scoring: Gill 16 (4/4 FT, 2/5 3 pt.), McLaughlin 15 (0/1 FT, 1/2 3 pt.), Martin 12 (2/2 FT, 2/8 3 pt.), Rudloff 7 (1/1 FT, 0/1 3 pt.), Kammerer 3 (1/3 FT), J. Davis 3 (1/2 FT), B. Davis 1 (1/3 FT)

Rebound Leaders: Gill 8, Gillespie 7

Steal Leaders: Kruger 9, McLaughlin 4

Assist Leaders: Gill 3, McLaughlin 3

SHS Boys vs. Big Horn 58-42

Scoring: Martin 21 (2/2 FT, 1/6 3 pt.), McLaughlin 12 (0/1 FT, 0/1 3 pt.), Kruger 9 (3/5 3 pt.), Gill 8 (2/2 FT, 0/3 3 pt.), Gillespie 5 (2/2 FT, 1/1 3 pt.), Rudloff 3 (0/2 FT, 1/3 3 pt.)

Rebound Leaders: Gill 11, McLaughlin 8, Martin 6

Steal Leaders: Gill 2, Rudloff 2

Assist Leaders: Kruger 5, Gill 5, McLaughlin 4