Busy week for Bulldog basketball teams

Lady Bulldogs

The parking lot was full at Sundance High School on Thursday night as the Lady Bulldogs hosted county rival Moorcroft Lady Wolves. The Lady Wolves came into the matchup ranked number two and toting a 9-3 overall record.

The tension in the gym was high as the teams took to the floor. Both sides got their jitters out on their first possession with a turnover.

As the quarter wore on, the turnovers continued to plague the Lady Bulldogs, who struggled to break Moorcroft's aggressive full court press.

"The first half as a team we cracked under pressure," Bulldog Cana McInerney commented.

The Lady Wolves seemed to be setting the tempo, pushing the ball down the floor and drawing the fouls from the Bulldogs. The Lady Bulldogs found themselves in foul trouble early on and needed to make a change.

When the first quarter drew to a close, Moorcroft had been to the free throw line seven times, scoring 10 of their 16 points, while Sundance trailed with only nine points. Although the fouling slowed for the Bulldogs throughout the second quarter, they still struggled to put points on the board.

Scoring just seven points, the Bulldogs went into the halftime break still trailing 16-28 and looking for a new game plan. 

There was a momentum shift in the game as the third quarter began. The Lady Bulldogs came out, out-scoring the Lady Wolves 13-3 in the opening minutes of the half, upping the score 27-31.

Shortly thereafter a timeout was called and the scoring slowed for the Bulldogs and the Wolves hit a few more key free throws to keep them in the lead. 

With the final eight minutes underfoot the Lady Bulldogs were determined to close the gap.

"We broke their press quite a few times back-to-back which really gave us the momentum going into the 4th quarter," stated McInerney. McInerney and Bailey Hofland connected on the pick and roll multiple times, bringing the Bulldogs within reach.

"I could feel the pressure on the court, but that helped me to focus and do what I needed to do," Hofland stated. Teammate Zoe Skeens came up with a big three-pointer with two minutes remaining on the clock to pull the Lady Bulldogs within one point of Moorcroft.

As the final minute of play began the Lady Wolves tried to protect the ball forcing Sundance to foul and send them to a familiar place for the night, the free throw line. Talissa Fischbach stepped up to the line for the Lady Wolves and sunk her first bonus shot, putting them up 50-48, a miss on the second shot allowed the Lady Bulldogs to secure the rebound.

Working their way down the court the Lady Bulldogs lost the ball out of bounds and the Wolves were in control with just under a minute remaining. Another foul by the Bulldogs sent Kyanna Petz to the line where she made the tail end of her two shots. 

With 40 seconds remaining the Bulldogs brought the ball down the floor and went with what they knew, the pick and roll. McInerney found Hofland one more time to put two more points on the board and the Lady Bulldogs were down one point, 50-51 with just seconds remaining.

Another quick foul by Sundance sent Petz to the line again where she secured another free throw and the game for the Lady Wolves, taking the 52-50 victory.

"Overall, we had plenty of opportunities to win the game in the last few minutes, and we need to get better at capitalizing on those and being able to finish a game when we are in tight situations like that," Hofland reflected.

The Lady Bulldogs were unable to dwell on their loss to the Wolves for too long as they were on a bus Friday and headed to face the Tongue River Eagles for another conference matchup. 

Jumping out to a quick start, the Lady Bulldogs found themselves up at halftime, 26-16. With three Bulldogs in double digit scoring, that lead only increased throughout the second half of the game.

Bailey Hofland led the team with a double double on the night, scoring 12 points and securing 12 rebounds. While teammates Cana McInerney and Zoe Skeens were right behind her, each scoring 11 points for the night. 

In the end, the Lady Bulldogs walked away with a 40-29 victory over the Lady Eagles.

"Tongue River was not as intense, but they are a fast-paced team," Zoe Skeens commented. "The first quarter proved challenging. We kept turning over the ball but like in the Moorcroft game, we just let that go and moved on to the next play and did not let that get into our heads."

To round out the weekend, the Lady Bulldogs were once again on their home floor as they welcomed the Lusk Tigers to town. Sundance started the game with an aggressive full court press, forcing multiple turnovers, and allowing the Lady Bulldogs to take the lead from the start.

The Tigers were held to seven points throughout the second quarter while the Bulldogs added to their score, taking a 26-16 lead into the halftime break. 

The second half didn't fare much better for the Lusk Tigers who scored only two baskets in the opening minutes of the third quarter while the Bulldogs went on a 12-0 scoring run to close out the quarter and secure their 20-point lead.

The Lady Bulldogs would go on to beat the Tigers, 47-31 to end their weekend of play. 

The Lady Bulldogs now have an 8-7 overall record, 2-1 in the conference. It will be another busy week for the Sundance girls' basketball team as they have three conference matchups, all played at home.

The postponed Big Horn game from January 22 will be played Tues., Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. They will also play host to conference teams Wright and Tongue River on Friday and Saturday with play beginning with the JV teams at noon.

Bulldog Boys

It was a busy weekend for the Sundance boys' basketball team, facing three different opponents in three days. The Bulldogs were able to add to the winning ways as they triumphed over Moorcroft and Lusk.

Taking to the court on Thursday evening, it was the much-anticipated intra-county rivalry with the Bulldogs and the Moorcroft Wolves. Looking to throw the Bulldogs off their up-tempo game, the Wolves tried to maintain a slower pace throughout the first quarter.

The Bulldogs were not shaken by this strategy. "If they are trying to slow us down and we don't have a fast break opportunity, we set up a play and run it through," senior Bulldog Gunner McLaughlin explained. 

Running their plays is just what the Bulldogs did throughout the second quarter as they began to put some distance between themselves and the Wolves. As the final seconds of the quarter came to a close McLaughlin was working his way down the court under pressure.

The Wolves stopped him in the backcourt and on a desperation heave from beyond halfcourt McLaughlin sank the basket, sending the Bulldogs into the break with a 29-15 lead over the Wolves.

Much of the Bulldog bench saw time on the floor throughout the second half as the Bulldogs walked away with a 55-38 conference win over the Wolves.

Back in action on Friday, the Sundance boys headed to Tongue River to face number two ranked Eagles.

"The game went good in the beginning," McLaughlin commented, "but their bench is so deep. We can make it a close game if we are able to keep our tempo throughout the game." 

Both teams were evenly matched after the initial eight minutes of play, but a slight scoring slump throughout the second quarter sent the Bulldogs into the break trailing the Eagles 17-27. Sundance continued to work throughout the second half, but came up just short at the end of each quarter and were unable to overtake the Eagles.

Three Bulldogs made their way into double digit scoring, sophomore Keaton Mills led the charge putting in 14 points for the night, followed closely by teammates Levi Rudloff and Gunner McLaughlin. The Bulldogs left the gym in a 38-56 defeat. 

With this victory the Eagles took over the top spot in the conference. The Bulldogs will have a second chance against the Eagles as they play host to Tongue River on Saturday, hoping to avenge their loss.

"Tongue River is definitely a good team but we realized that we can compete with them," Bulldog sophomore Keaton Mills stated, "We just need to focus on the little things to get better. We need to work on being patient on offense and utilizing every possession."

To round out their busy weekend, the Bulldogs hosted a possible regional preview game against the Lusk Tigers. Starting off on the right foot, the Bulldogs defense held the Tigers to just four points in the first quarter and 13 throughout the first half of play.

The second half continued to see the tough Bulldog team control both ends of the court as two players put up double doubles for the night. Gunner McLaughlin led the team, scoring 18 points and securing ten rebounds, while fellow teammate Keaton Mills netted 13 points and also pulled down ten rebounds in the 52-38 victory over the Tigers. 

Coach Olson reflected on the week's play and previewed the games to come. "It's been a whirlwind weekend for us, we played three games against three good teams, and have three more games this week against three more good teams. All of which have implications for the regional tournament. Big Horn on Tuesday will be a tough game, they're very well coached and disciplined. Then we have Wright and Tongue River Friday and Saturday so two more games against two very good teams. It's an exciting time of year for us seeing how the seeding will fall for regionals."

The Bulldogs will play host this week as the Big Horn Rams come to town on Tuesday to play at 2:30 p.m. The Bulldogs will also host the Wright Panthers on Friday and face the Tongue River Eagles again on Saturday. Play will begin at 1:30 p.m. with the JV boys on both Friday and Saturday. 

Girls Stats

SHS vs. Moorcroft – 50-52

Scoring: Ba. Hofland 18 (2/4 FT), McInerney 16 (4/4 FT, 0/4 3pt), Skeens 13 (1/5 FT, 2/73pt), Gillespie 2, Marchant 1 (1/3 FT)

Rebound Leaders: McInerney 9, Ba. Hofland 6, Br. Hofland 6

Steals: Ba. Hofland 4, McInerney 3

Assists: McInerney 4, Marchant 2

SHS vs. Tongue River – 40-29

Scoring: Ba. Hofland 12, McInerney 11 (3/6 FT, 2/5 3pt), Skeens 11 (0/2 FT, 3/7 3pt), Jones 2, Gillespie 2, Br. Hofland 2 (0/3 3pt)

Rebound leaders: Ba. Hofland 12, McInerney 7, Br. Hofland 6

Steals: Skeens 6, McInerney 3

Assists: McInerney 4, Br. Hofland 3

SHS vs. Lusk – 47-31

Scoring: Williams 10, Banker 8 (0/2 FT), McInerney 7 (1/2 3pt), Br Hofland 7 (1/4 FT, 0/1 3pt), Ba. Hofland 6, Skeens 4 (1/2 FT, 1/3 3pt), Gillespie 3 (1/2 FT), Marchant 2 (2/3 FT)

Rebound Leaders: Banker 9, Br. Hofland 7, Ba. Hofland 6

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

Assists: McINerney 3, Skeens 3

Boys Stats

SHS vs. Moorcroft – 55-38

Scoring: Mills 19 (6/6 FT, 1/3 3pt), Davis 9 (1/4 3pt), McLaughlin 8 (1/1 FT, 1/5 3pt), Harmon 7 (1/2 FT, 0/1 3pt), Schommer 7 (0/1 FT, 1/2 3pt), Fiedor 2, Fleenor 2, Gill 1 (1/2 FT)

Rebound Leaders: Mills 10, Schommer 5, McLaughlin 5

Steals: Fleenor, McLaughlin, Harmon 1, Davis 1

Assists: Mills 3, Schommer 2, McLaughlin 2, Rudloff 2

SHS vs. Tongue River – 43-59

Scoring: Mills 14 (1/5 FT, 0/2 3pt), Rudloff 11 (5/7 FT, 2/7 3 pt), McLaughlin 10 (2/4 FT, 0/1 3pt), Fiedor 2, Davis 1 (1/2 FT)

Rebound Leaders: Mills 7, McLaughlin 5

Steals: Mills 3, McLaughlin 3

Assists: Rudloff 2

SHS vs. Lusk – 52-38

Scoring: McLaughlin 18 (2/4 FT, 0/5 3pt), Mills 13 (1/4 FT, 0/1 3pt), Gill 8 (2/3 3pt), Rudloff 5 (1/2 FT, 0/2 3pt), Davis 4 (0/2 FT, 0/2 3pt), Schommer 2, Fleenor 2 (0/1 3pt)

Rebound Leaders: McLaughlin 10, Mills 10

Steals: Rudloff 3, McLaughlin 2, Mills 2

Assists: Mills 4, Rudloff 3, McLaughlin 3