George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
The Big Sandy girls basketball team only lost two games all season. The Pioneers lost their season-opener to Highwood, and on Friday night, they lost to eventual repeat state champion, Reed Point-Rapelje.
But on Saturday night, at the Class C state tournament in Hamilton, the Pioneers finished the season much differently than they started. They finished as winners.
Big Sandy rebounded from its semifinal loss to defeat Scobey 30-27 to bring home a third-place trophy from the state tournament.
“The kids never quit playing,” Big Sandy head coach Roy Lackner said. “They never got tired. We played every game this weekend as hard as we could.”
The finish was Big Sandy's second third-place finish at the Class C state tournament in four years, which meant that seniors Naomi Williams and Sara Yirsa finished their careers in the same fashion they started four years ago. Senior Kacy Herron didn't join the Big Sandy program until two years ago, and this time around, Herron was a big part of the Pioneers' success.
Herron scored a game-high 14 points in the Pioneers' three-point win over the Spartans on Saturday night. And she was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, including several key one's down the stretch.
“It is pretty satisfying to send our seniors out on top,” Lackner said. “From where we started the season to where we are now, I am really proud of how far this team has come. I am happy for all our kids, and you can never complain about bringing a trophy home from the state tournament.”
Big Sandy got to Saturday night's consolation game by thumping a very good Broadview-Lavina team 50-33 on Saturday morning. Herron again led the way with 14 points and Williams and freshman Laci Keller chipped in with 10 and nine points, respectively.
But the Pioneers came agonizingly close to not having to worry about loser-out games.
On Friday night, Big Sandy was narrowly defeated by defending state champ Reed Point-Rapelje, 40-33. The second and third quarters are what did Big Sandy in, as the Pioneers scored a combined eight points during that 16-minute stretch.
“I said before the week started that we could beat anybody in this tournament if we made shots,” Lackner said. “And on Friday night we just didn't make our shots. We played great defense and we did everything we needed to do to beat them, but we just didn't make shots and that was the difference.”
Herron led Big Sandy in the loss with seven points and Shalayna Pearson added six.
The Pirates went on to narrowly defeat Chester/J-I in Saturday night's championship game. In all, the Pirates have now won an astounding 53 straight games.
“The kids played every game as hard as they could, and as a coach, you can't ask for much more than that,” Lackner said. “It has been a very successful season for us, and the kids deserve that success because they have put a lot of hard work into this season. And they are all proud of what they have accomplished this year.”
Reed Point-Rapelje 40, Big Sandy 33 (sf)
Reed Point-Rapelje 14 9 8 9 - 40
Big Sandy 11 3 5 14 - 33
Reed Point-Rapelje - Elly Bruursema 2-8 2-2 8, Haley Bishop 0-1 0-0 0, Dani Henderson 1-3 2-6 4, Katelin Schneidt 1-2 2-4 4, Jordan Bruursema 2-12 0-0 4, Kristin Ballbach 8-12 0-1 20. Totals: 14-38 6-13 40. 3-point FG: 4-7 (E. Bruursema 2-5, Bishop 0-1, J. Bruursema 0-5, Ballbach 4-7). Assists: 9 (Bishop 3, J. Bruursema 3). Rebounds: 34 (J. Bruursema 8, Ballbach 8). Steals: 4 (Four with 1). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 10.
Big Sandy - Kacy Herron 2-5 1-3 7, Jessica Arnsbaugh 1-7 0-0 3, Kate Vosen 0-0 0-0 0, Shalayna Pearson 1-12 3-4 6, Morgan Darlington 0-2 1-2 1, Shaila Cline 1-3 0-0 3, Shersteen Cline 0-2 0-0 0, Sarah Yirsa 3-10 0-0 6, Naomi Williams 2-2 1-2 5, Laci Keller 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 11-46 6-11 33. 3-point FG: 5-15 (Herron 2-2, Amsbaugh 1-6, Pearson 1-4, Cline 1-3). Assists: 7 (Yirsa 3). Rebounds: 32 (Pearson 7). Steals: 5 (Darlington 3). Turnovers: 7. Fouls: 14.
Big Sandy 50, Broadview-Lavina 33 (lo)
Big Sandy 14 16 8 12 - 50
Broadview-Lavina 15 6 8 4 - 33
Big Sandy - Kacy Herron 4-8 6-7 14, Josie Herron 0-0 0-0 0, Jessica Arnsbaugh 0-4 0-0 0, Kate Vosen 0-0 0-0 0, Shalayna Pearson 4-6 1-2 9, Morgan Darlington 0-1 0-0 0, Shaila Cline 1-3 0-0 3, Shersteen Cline 0-0 0-0 0, Sarah Yirsa 2-4 2-2 6, Naomi Williams 3-8 3-4 9, Kourtney Danreuther 0-0 0-0 0, Laci Keller 4-8 1-2 9. Totals: 18-42 13-17 50. 3-point FG: 1-4 (Sha. Cline 1-2, Arnsbaugh 0-2). Fouls: 12. Rebounds: 41 (Williams 11). Assists: 6 (Yirsa 3). Steals: 4 (Sha. Cline 2). Turnovers: 14.
Broadview-Lavina - Tori Pitsch 0-0 0-0 0, Ashely Grammens 2-9 0-0 5, Lori Ahern 3-14 0-0 6, Jessica Reinhardt 2-7 0-0 4, Becky Badgett 1-5 1-4 3, Nicole Moody 2-8 3-4 8, Angela Reinhardt 0-3 1-2 1, Megan Schmidt 0-0 0-0 0, Kasey Russell 2-3 1-1 5, Lindsey Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Hollie Wichman 0-7 1-2 1, Casandra Perea 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 12-56 7-13 33. 3-point FG: 2-12 (Moody 1-2, Grammens 1-6, Ahern 0-1, J. Reinhardt 0-1, Badgett 0-1, A. Reinhardt 0-1). Fouls: 17. Rebounds: 32 (Five with 4). Assists: 5 (Grammens 2). Steals: 8 (Grammens 3). Turnovers: 10.
Big Sandy 30, Scobey 27 (3rd)
Big Sandy 11 9 2 8 - 30
Scobey 4 10 7 6 - 27
Big Sandy - Kacy Herron 3-5 8-8 14, Jessica Amsbaugh 1-4 0-0 3, Shalayna Pearson 1-5 0-0 2, Morgan Darlington 2-3 0-0 4, Shaila Cline 0-1 0-0 0, Shersteen Cline 0-0 0-0 0, Sarah Yirsa 1-3 0-2 2, Naomi Williams 2-4 1-2 5. Totals: 10-25 9-12 30. 3-point: 1-1 (Amsbaugh 1-1). Assists: 6 (Darlington 2, Amsbaugh 2). Rebounds: 14 (Danreuther 7). Blocks: 0. Steals: 10 (Amsbaugh 4). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 8. Fouled-out: none.
Scobey - Gerry Richardson 0-2 0-0 0, Kyla Selvig 3-10 0-0 7, Brittney Selvig 2-5 0-0 4, Erin Fosland 1-1 0-0 2, Laura Gunderson 6-10 1-2 13, Ashley Laurie 0-2 1-4 1. Totals: 12-30 2-6 27. 3-point: 1-6 (K. Selvig 1-5, B. Selvig 0-1). Assists: 7 (Richardson 2, K. Selvig 2, Gunderson 2). Rebounds: 23 (Gunderson 7). t: none.
