Junior high girls' basketball sees success this season

The Sundance Bulldogs junior high girls' basketball season came to a close at their district tournament, held in Hulett on Dec. 20. With an impressive 28 girls participating in grades 6-8, this season proved fruitful for the future of the school's programs, showcasing a lot of improvement from top to bottom, and start to finish.

The 6th/7th grade team started out with a bang and continued their momentum throughout the season. Coming off a 6th grade season with few games last year, the current 7th graders stepped into their role as the main players on the team and showed solid play and great leadership in practice and games.

The 6th grade class contributed an unprecedented 12 players this year and raised the bar in practice with their tenacity and hustle. Having such a deep bench had its pros and cons but was an asset in the team's knack for fast-paced, transition-style play, allowing multiple sub rotations to stay fresh.

In their 13 regular season games, the 6th/7th grade combo outscored their opponents 455-179, with two close games coming only from South Dakota teams, Belle Fourche and Lead.

"These younger girls really brought a well-rounded game to the floor this season. As coaches, we take pride in recognizing all roles as important pillars on the team and we had multiple players step up in all categories; offensively, defensively, rebounding, hustling, communicating, intensity," commented coach, Missy Gill.

"It's not easy sitting on the bench and watching others play, but with 19 players we had a lot of girls sitting and waiting their turn, but that didn't phase them as they were always each other's biggest cheerleaders whether they were in the game or not. We had awesome bench energy this season. They all had a great desire to learn and improve."

The 6th/7th Bulldogs headed into the district tournament as the #1 seed and faced Wright in the first round. In a near shut-out, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and held the Panthers scoreless until the last few seconds of the game.

Sundance won with a final score of 42-2, which put them in the semi-final game against Big Horn. Typically a district powerhouse, Big Horn came into the tournament as the reigning District Champions, but fell to the aggressive, full-court pressure defense of the Bulldogs, 39-12.

The girls played their final game of the season versus Moorcroft, and walked away as the undefeated 2024 District Champions, with a score of 36-14. The Bulldogs put on an impressive show during the tournament with a combined total of 117 points in three games, giving up only 28 to their opponents.

The season went a little differently for the 8th grade girls in the wins/losses department, but it was not without a distinct level of their own success stories. With only nine girls and plagued with multiple injuries, it was difficult for the girls to find their flow from game to game, often having to switch up positions, offenses and defenses to adapt to the current players at-hand.

This group definitely had a don't-give-up mentality and they never backed down from the challenges they faced. These girls continued to bring positivity and leadership to practice and set high expectations for their younger teammates, pushing them all to do their best.

"Our success didn't necessarily come from the scoreboard, but I saw success in improving fundamentals in practices and games. Seemingly-small details regarding court energy and coachability often get lost in the shadows of a team's offensive performance or season record, but the importance of these qualities is undeniable," states coach Joni Ellsbury.

"These 8th grade girls' desire to continue to compete every time they stepped on the floor was impressive, and a lot of their attributes just fell in unmeasurable categories this season, but are extremely important to a coach and a program."

The 8th grade Bulldogs entered the post-season tournament as the #8 seed and faced Big Horn in the opening round. The Bulldogs came out swinging and with a strong defensive effort, ending the first quarter with an anybody's-game score of 4-7.

Ellsbury continues, "That first quarter was one of the best quarters we've had, as a whole. All the girls stepped up and contributed one way or another. I don't think Big Horn expected that. We had them back on their heels a bit. We were creating opportunities, but our shots just weren't falling, or it could have been a completely different outcome."

Composed of most of the players that played on last year's championship team, the Rams ended up pulling away on the scoreboard and overtook the Bulldogs with a final score of 49-14, ending the season for Sundance.

"What we saw from the beginning to the end of the season in these girls is positive. Some who mentioned they may not continue to play basketball into high school were having a change of heart, and a desire to stick with it. Some really stepped up and into new roles this season compared to last and others started to show great signs of emerging into the level of players that could really contribute to our high school program down the road. I'm excited to watch what's in store for them," concludes Ellsbury.

These three grades of basketball players are already planning for the future with spring tournaments and summer workouts in their upcoming schedules and should be on everyone's radar to watch next season. Go Bulldogs!