The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The Big Sandy Pioneers girls and boys basketball teams concluded their 2016-17 basketball seasons this past week at the District 9C Tournament in Havre.

The teams, both under the direction of head coach Ronny Simpson played hard throughout the season and continued to do so at the District Tournament.

The girls entered as the No. 8 seed and opened the tournament with a first round contest against the top seeded Box Elder Bears. The Bears depth showed as they took a 57-16 win over Big Sandy

Thursday morning the girls season came to a end following a 45-28 defeat to the Turner Tornadoes.

Leslie Gregory

Sophomore Jaylyn Cline (13) gets a shot off in the paint Thursday morning against Turner at the District 9C Tournament. The girls season may have ended but they played hard until the end.

The boys entered the tournament as the districts No. 6 seed and faced the Chinook Sugarbeeters in the opener. The 'Beeters started fast and opened a big early lead in securing a 66-25 win over the Pioneers.

Friday morning the opponent was the Turner Tornadoes, a team they had split regular season games with. The Pioneers led early 17-10 and held a 33-22 advantage at the break.

Turner put together a strong second half to overcome Big Sandy and ended the boys season with a 66-61 defeat.

Simpson will return many players on both teams and will be able to field a much more experienced team next season. The strides made this year will certainly pay dividends in the future.

It's always a joy to cover the student athletes that compete hard and seek to better themselves on and off the field of play be it a basketball court, football field, track, volleyball court or wrestling mat.