Two more conference wins for Lady Bulldogs

Playing three games last week, the Sundance Lady Bulldogs added two more wins to their unblemished conference record and dropped a non-conference game to the Upton Bobcats.

Opening the big week at home against the Upton Lady Bobcats, the Lady Bulldogs struggled to figure out the Bobcats intense full court press. Falling behind in the opening minutes of play, the Lady Bulldogs suffered a 37-72 loss on Tuesday night. 

Turning their focus to the conference games, the Sundance girls traveled to Big Horn to face the Rams on Friday evening. The Lady Bulldogs started out strong taking a 33-15 lead going into the half.

Zoe Skeens helped feed that lead as she came up with seven steals on the night. Teammate Jaylin Mills led the scoring charge with 21 points for the Bulldogs who continued to roll through the second half and take a commanding 63-37 conference win.

The Lady Bulldogs had one more win for the week as they hosted the Wright Panthers on Saturday afternoon in Sundance. As the game began, both teams took their time working through their offense, looking for the right shot.

The Bulldogs closed the first quarter of play and opened the second with a 9-0 run over the Panthers. Wright found their way back onto the scoreboard midway through the second quarter, but Sundance, once again, put together a nice run to close the half with a 26-17 lead over the Panthers.

The second half of play was a low scoring game for both teams. The Panthers attempted to close the gap while the Bulldogs maintained their composure and went on to a 39-33 conference win.

With this victory, the Lady Bulldogs moved to an 11-8 overall record and a 5-0 conference record. The Lady Bulldogs look to continue their winning ways this coming week.

The high school will celebrate Snowcoming Week and the Lady Bulldogs will host the Moorcroft Wolves on Tuesday and the Tongue River Eagles on Friday. Tuesday will be senior night for both the boys' and girls' teams and Friday will feature the Sundance Elementary Little Dribblers in between the girls' and boys' games and the Two Ball Dribblers at halftime of the boys' varsity game. 

SHS Boys

The Sundance boys' basketball team is still searching for a conference win. Facing two conference teams last week, the Bulldogs came close but could not hold on down the stretch and fell to both the Big Horn Rams and the Wright Panthers.

Starting the week off with a non-conference opponent, the Bulldogs played host to the Upton Bobcats. The Bobcats came into the game touting a 5-0 1A conference record and a 13-3 overall record.

With a historically fast-paced offense, the Bobcats did not stray from what works for them. The Bobcats moved the ball down the court quickly and pressured the Bulldogs from the start. Taking a 26-17 lead after the first half of play, the Bulldogs were unable to recover the initial gap and fell to the Bobcats 46-59. 

Looking for their first conference win, the Bulldogs traveled to Big Horn on Friday afternoon. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the Rams have always been a conference powerhouse.

The Sundance team stayed close throughout the first quarter of play, but a scoring slump throughout quarters two and three put them further away than anticipated and the Rams ended the night with a 52-36 win. 

On Saturday, the Bulldogs had another shot for a conference win as they hosted the Wright Panthers. The fans in the stands were out of their seats in the opening minutes of play as both teams traded basket for basket in a tight matchup.

The Panthers were on the board first as Jorge Reyes sank a three to open the game. Deklan Gill answered for the Bulldogs when he nailed a three pointer to put his team on the board.

The Panthers scored two more baskets before Jake Schommer and Shane Tenke stepped up to the arc for the Bulldogs, and dropped three pointers of their own. Jesse Harmon would close out the quarter, scoring one more three for the Bulldogs, putting them in the lead 14-13 after one quarter of play.

The Panthers doubled down on their scoring efforts throughout the second quarter as the Bulldogs offense began to struggle. Making only four baskets throughout the second quarter, the Bulldogs found themselves down 23-30 at the half.

Another slow quarter of scoring to open the second half put Sundance in a bigger hole. Trailing 32-52 things looked bleak for the Bulldogs. The team, however, did not quit. They saw the challenge and worked themselves back into the ballgame.

The Bulldogs opened the fourth quarter behind the scoring of Keaton Mills and Eli Gill. Sinking three big shots, which came from three substantial defensive stops, Mills and Gill moved the Bulldog score to 39.

The Panthers needed a timeout to slow the Bulldog momentum. The Bulldogs, however, continued to score.

Wright then turned their offensive effort to their big man, Parker Worman. Worman scored on three consecutive give-and-go plays to help the Panthers maintain their lead. 

The Bulldogs weren't ready to give up just yet as Jake Schommer stepped up to the three-point line three more times; sinking two, and going to the free throw line for the third, Schommer helped to bring the Bulldogs within four points of the Panthers, 55-59, with only minutes remaining in the game.

Wright once again called a timeout and this time, decided to change their game plan. With 2:26 left in the fourth quarter the Panthers came out of their timeout in a stall.

The Bulldogs were forced to foul to regain possession but the Panthers were deadly at the line. Going five for eight from the free throw line in the final minutes of play, Wright took the 63-57 conference win.

"Their effort and attitudes have been great," coach Olson commented after the game. "They're really starting to believe in themselves. The boys are really starting to blend together for a run at regionals."

The Sundance boys will take to the floor on Tuesday night to face the Moorcroft Wolves and hope to gain their conference win on Friday when they host the Tongue River Eagles.

Stats

SHS Girls vs. Upton: 37-72

Scoring: Mills 12 (0/5 FT, 0/2 3pt), Gillespie 7 (1/3 3pt), L.Marchant 6 (2/6 FT), Williams 6 (2/6 3pt), Skeens 3 (1/3 3pt), Banker 3 (1/2 3pt)

Rebound Leaders: Mills 6, L.Marchant 5

SHS Girls vs. BH: 63-37

Scoring: Mills 21 (3/5 FT, 2/3 3pt), L.Marchant 9 (3/4 FT), Banker 9 (5/6 FT), Williams 8, Jones 8, Skeens 4 (4/5 FT), L.Marchant 2, Gillespie 2 (0/2 FT)

Rebound Leaders: Banker 6, Mills 5

Steals: Skeens 7, Mills 5

SHS Girls vs. Wright: 39-33

Scoring: Mills 10 (4/4 FT, 0/2 3pt), Skeens 7(2/4 FT, 1/5 3pt), L.Marchant 6 (0/2FT), Williams 5 (2/2 FT, 1/4 3pt), Marchant 4 (1/2 FT, 1/1 3pt), Jones 4, GIllespie 3 (1/2 3pt)

Rebound Leaders: Mills 7

Steals: Skeens 5

SHS Boys vs. Upton: 46-59

Scoring: E.Gill 11 (0/1 FT, 1/1 3pt), Schommer 11 (0/2 FT, 1/8 3pt), Mills 8 (1/2 FT, 1/5 3pt), D.Gill 6 (2/2 3pt), Harmon 5 (1/2 3pt), Fleenor 3 (1/1 3pt), Skeens 2 (0/1 3pt)

Rebound Leaders: Schommer 6, E.Gill 5, Mills 5

Assists: Schommer 5

Steals Harmon 2, Tenke 2

SHS Boys vs. Big Horn: 36-52

Scoring: Schommer 16 (0/1 FT, 2/10 3pt), D.Gill 8 (0/1 FT, 2/5 3pt), Harmon 5 (3/4 FT), E.Gill 5 (1/2 3pt) Mills 2 (0/5 3pt)

Rebound Leaders: Schommer 6, E.Gill 6

Assists: E.Gill 2, D.Gill 2, Fleenor 2

SHS Boys vs. Wright: 57-63

Scoring: Schommer 27 (2/4 FT, 5/9 3pt), Mills 15 (2/5 FT, 1/4 3pt), D.Gill 7 (1/3 3pt), Harmon 3 (1/1 3pt), Tenke 3 (1/2 3pt), E.Gill 2 (0/1 3pt)

Rebound Leaders: Mills 8, Schommer 6, Skeens 6

Assists: Skeens 5, E.Gill 4

Steals: E.Gill 3, Schommer 2, Skeens 2

Blocks: D.Gill 2