The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

What a great season for our Lady Pioneers! If you have followed them all year, you will know that these girls showed true heart all season, especially in making it to the state tournament! The ladies’ amazing season did come to an unfortunate end this past weekend, but no one should be hanging their heads because what these ladies accomplished this season is something to be proud of!

“Travis Baumann wrote, “Leading up to State, we had a wonderful time with each school and the community. On Wednesday, the Senior Center made the girls lunch, and people came out and wished the girls luck and sang the rouser for them. Then, after lunch, the student council at the High School put on a pep assembly.

On Thursday morning, the Church of God fed the girls breakfast and wished us luck. After that, we drove to the grade school for an amazing walk through the school. The kids and staff did an amazing job with their signs and all the high-fives! I was emotional and exhilarating for all.

Our last three losses of the season were to #the 2nd placer at State, Roy/Winifred, #the 3rd placer at State, Twin Bridges, and #the 4th placer at State, Roberts. With both losses, our team learned a lot about the style of play, the physicality, and the shooting ability of the team that made it to this venue! All in all, it was an amazing experience that we hope to return to next year!

Thank you to all the Pioneer fans who made this season special for this team! Your well wishes and support have been amazing! Thank you, Big Sandy! You are an amazing community, and we are proud to count ourselves as Pioneers.

Travis continued, “Thursday afternoon, we played the #1 seeded team out of the West Division and the #2 seeded team in the State, the Twin Bridges Falcons. This team had six seniors and had been to State for five consecutive years! This team was aggressive, big, strong, and well-coached. They jumped on us in the first half. We went to the locker room and came out and gave them everything we had, and we outscored them in the second half, but the damage done in the first half was too much to overcome; we lost by 19. “

The Lady Pioneers struggled a bit initially with some turnovers from a very tough Lady Falcons team. The Lady Pioneers outscored in 3 of the 4 quarters but showed true grit to climb back into the game. The significant statistic of the game was that the Lady Falcons scored 22 points off of second-chance opportunities and out-rebounded the Lady Pioneers by 13. Eva Yeadon had a big game scoring 19 points which was half of what the Lady Pioneers had scored for the whole game. She also had 8 rebounds and 1 steal. Jenny Sant had 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Alex Worrall had 5 points and 2 rebounds. Keira Galbavy had 3 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. The Lady Pioneers shot amazingly from the free-throw line, but they had a hard time coming from behind because they were outscored for 3 of the 4 quarters. The final score was 38-57.

“Friday morning, we played the #2 out of the South Division and the #3 ranked team in the State, Roberts. This team comprised 4 senior starters; it was their second straight year at State. They have a girl committed to playing for MSU. The Rockets shot at an unbelievable clip against us, which is arguably the best they have shot all season. They jumped on us early and made it very difficult to fight back. Our girls gave it everything they had but fell short and their State tournament was over.”

The Lady Pioneers came out aggressive and ready to play and give it all they had. Their first quarter was better than the day before, but struggled in the 2nd quarter only scoring 4 points. The Lady Pioneers went into halftime down 24 points. The second half was much better for the Lady Pioneers. They came out of halftime outscoring Roberts by 2 points, and attacking the 4th quarter with all they had left and gave it their all, but unfortunately, they were too far behind with not enough time on the clock and lost by 28 points with a final score of 76-48. E a Yeadon had another big game with 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. K ira Galbavy had 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Jenny Sant had 6 points and 1 rebound.

We are so proud of your winning season and all your hard work! Your record is something to be proud of! Finishing the year with a record of 23-7 is amazing! I’m so excited to watch you ladies next year and watch you go to state AGAIN! Set your sights high, ladies. You can do it! Get that title next year!

Ella Jurenka, Assistant Coach of the Lady Pioneers, had this to say.

“To say I am proud is such an understatement! “

“I watched these girls test the limits of their bodies and work through the emotions that come with success and failure. I watched them come to an understanding with themselves and each other; when you give your blood, sweat, and tears to something bigger than yourself, it is worth it in more ways than what the scoreboard reflects, win or lose. The foundation is being rebuilt, and there are no shortcuts. I am thankful we got a preview of what it will take. That was a huge piece of this puzzle! This marks the end of a chapter but not the book!”

“Thank you to the Big Sandy community; your support means so much and plays such a huge role in the success of our kids!”