Lady Bulldogs End Season with First Round Region Loss

The Milbank Lady Bulldogs ended their season with a 51-37 loss to Sisseton in the opening round of the Region 1A high school girls basketball tournament Monday, March 2, in Sisseton. The locals wrap up the year with a 4-17 overall record. “Offensively, we started the game strong,” stated Bulldog head coach Brian Pauli. “Jaecy
(Engebretson) was hot early which gave the team confidence. The second quarter killed us. We weren’t making shots like earlier in the game, which made the team hesitant to make plays and it kind of snowballed from there. I felt our defense was off balance all game as well.”

The teams played even in the first quarter and knotted the score up at 14-14 when the buzzer sounded. The Lady Bulldog offense then struggled and produced just three points while Sisseton added 13 to overtake the lead at 17-27 at halftime. Sisseton used a huge third quarter to widen the gap to 22-44 heading into the final stanza. Milbank again found the rim and outscored the Redmen 15-7 in the fourth, but it was just too late, and they succumbed to Sisseton.

Engebretson led the way for Milbank, in her final game of her high school career, with a double-double. She poured in 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. In addition, she had five assists and two steals on the night. Maurina Street followed with 11 points, six rebounds, and two blocked shots. Madi Thue tallied five points, three boards, and one blocked shot while Isabella Anderson added two points, five rebounds, five assists, and one steal. Tracy Pillatzki
rounded out the scoring for Milbank with two points, one rebound, one assist, and one steal. Lindsey Mertens had four rebounds, one assist, and three steals in the game. Hallie Schulte was sidelined with an illness.

The Lady Bulldogs made 24 percent of their shots from the field, making 14-of-58 attempts. Milbank wrapped up the game with 41 rebounds, 12 assists, seven steals, three blocked shots, and 20 turnovers.

Sisseton went 18-for-61 from the field for 30 percent shooting. The Redmen grabbed 48 rebounds, had three assists, nine steals, and five blocked shots, and committed 18 turnovers.