Though their regular season schedule concluded Saturday with a jamboree in Hays, Big Sandy junior high basketballers still have some hoop to play after the Thanksgiving holiday.

With a district tournament slated for next week, the Pioneers have a chance to wrap up 2019 on a good note after some frustrating stretches without the availability of key players.

Those struggles were evident Monday, Nov. 18, when Big Sandy welcomed Chester-Joplin-Inverness to their gym for a previously-postponed pair of tilts.

The Pioneer girls’ squad dropped a 39-28 decision to the Hi-Line Hawks in the evening’s first matchup. Slipping behind in the early going, 6-2, the Pioneers charged back on the strength of some resilient play by eighth grader Lainey Terry. With her shot attempt blocked, Terry snagged the ball back and went back up with it to collect two points. She hustled back on defense and swatted away a CJI pass to energize the Pioneer faithful on the bench and in the stands. She tallied another deuce on a 15-footer between a CJI free throw and lay-in. Then sixth grader Keirra Oats knotted the game at 9 apiece with her own point from the charity stripe followed by a pair from inside the paint.

Terry procured a steal on the defensive end but missed the would-be go-ahead bucket on the other end. When the Hawks edged back ahead, 12-9, seventh grader Kadee Sternberg went to work and drained back-to-back buckets to grant Big Sandy its first lead of the game. Terry stretched it to a 14-12 advantage, sinking one of two foul shots.

The teams went back and forth from there and Big Sandy would thrice regain the lead in the third quarter. A picture-perfect assist by seventh grader Jaihven Baumann gained sixth grader Brianna Terry her first basket of the night and an 18-17 Pioneers lead. Oats did the dirty work to get another pair of points in the paint for a 22-20 lead and drew a foul to try for a three-point play but could not hit the free throw. After the Hawks answered, seventh grader Loni Ophus gave Big Sandy the shot they needed for a 24-23 lead but alas, it would be the last time the Pioneers were ahead in the contest. A 6-0 run to close the quarter made it 29-24 in favor of CJI entering the final period. The Hi-Line Hawks held on and quelled the Pioneers’ attempts at a late rally.

The Pioneer boys had a harder struggle against the visitors wearing Columbia blue. They never held the lead and succumbed 50-18 to their guests.

The last time the game remained tied came early on as Big Sandy knotted up the game at 4-4, with all those points coming from seventh grader Ryder Oats’ sweet reverse followed up by another pair inside on a play that developed from eighth grader Jake Darlington’s rebound on the defensive end.

The Hawks jumped out to a 15-4 lead before Big Sandy could put a stop to the run with eighth grader Cooper Taylor dishing to classmate Lane Demontiney for a much-needed bucket. Eighth grader Samuel Cox swiped a steal but the Pioneers turned the ball over again and fell behind 21-6 by halftime.

Big Sandy gained a bit of offensive rhythm in the third quarter with Demontiney going back inside for a couple more two-pointers in the paint. Sixth grader Logan Witmer got his first basket of the game before Demontiney could add a fast-break bucket and a steal/lay-in combo to close out the quarter. That lifted him to double-digit scoring for the night to lead the purple-and-gold offensive attack. Unfortunately, defensive lapses left the Pioneers behind 36-16 going into the fourth quarter.

Big Sandy put its last points on the board when seventh grader Severin Heimbigner put back a missed 3-point try from sixth grader MJ Griffith. The Hawks closed the game on a 14-0 run for the final tally.

The Pioneer boys’ team also features eighth graders Eli Dixon, Wylee Snapp and Christian Winderl; seventh graders Sonny Gravelle, Hunter Moore, Darrell SunChild and Chris Torres; and sixth grader Travis Wilford. They are coached by Thomas and Mia Dilworth.

The Pioneer girls’ roster also includes seventh graders Kaya Demontiney, Jordan Henry, Jenny Sant, Carmen Tan and Alex Worrall; and sixth graders Lindsey Cline, Tori Dixon and Camille Nissen. They are coached by Travis Baumann.