Lady Bulldogs Blast the Lady Pheasants With 12 Triples

The Lady Bulldogs hosted the Lady Pheasants of Redfield on Thursday, January 15. Milbank took the win 55-29. They also boosted their season record to 7-1.

The two teams spent the opening quarter jostling for control.Traveling and turnover troubles tormented them both. Redfield won the tip off, but they tripped going down court and were whistled for walking with the ball. Milbank took possession, but lost it to the Pheasants. Adison Pauli intercepted it, but Susie Schuneman’s shot was off the mark. S. Schuneman then followed with a layup to get Milbank on the board first at 2-0.

Each team then missed a 3-pointer, but Redfield’s Brynn Giblen put in a two to tie the score at 2-2. After the inbounds pass, Redfield grabbed the ball from Milbank, but the Lady Pheasants were caught traveling again. This pattern kept the score low, and the quarter ended at 8-7 in favor of Milbank. The highlights included two 3-pointers and a basket by S. Schuneman. She had all eight of Milbank’s points.

That was early, though, and once MIlbank found their footing, they started to build a lead. In the second quarter. Supported by their solid defense, including two blocks and an interception from Anna Neugebauer, and back-to-back triples from A. Pauli, Milbank began to establish their dominance. Belle Pauli also knocked in a 3-pointer. Redfield aided the Lady Bulldogs by racking up 13 turnovers, and the first half ended with Milbank ahead 17-10.

After the break, the Lady Pheasants came roaring back to the court. Hayden Gall put up a quick three-pointer to narrow the gap to 17-13. MIlbank’s Avery Schuneman answered with a spot-on triple— her first basket of the night – and Milbank was up 20-13. The Lady Pheasants then committed another turnover, and A. Pauli made them pay when she downed a  3-pointer from the left wing to give Milbank a double-digit lead at 23-13. 

In the next series of moves, B. Pauli was pushed, Redfield traveled, Neugebauer got called for a foul, and a lot of players ended up on the floor turtle style. After sorting that out, Redfield’s Kinley Smith pumped in a turn-around jumper to get the score to 23-15. S. Schuneman replied with her third triple of the night and her 11th point. Milbank also pushed ahead by 11 at 26-15.

B. Pauli then got the ball inside for a field goal. After the rebound, Milbank grabbed  it  back, and A. Pauli took it to the hole for three more. The Lady Bulldogs started to pull away with a 16-point lead at 31-15.  Gall tossed in a bucket for Redfield. Neugebauer sent up a shot, but missed. She got her own put-back to score her first points of the night as she had stayed busy on the defense. Neugebauer’s bucket capped a 16-7 run by the Lady Dawgs, and the score sat at 33-17. 

Lady Pheasant Rylen Frericks then found her way to the charity stripe. She rolled in two to make the score 33-19.  Neugebauer twisted by her defender to collect two points. Redfield’s Kinley Smith was fouled in the act of shooting, and she made both of her free throws. The  score went  to 35-21. A. Pauli launched  a 3-pointer – her third of the game– to give Milbank a 17-point lead at 38-21 at the end of three.

The Lady Bulldogs started the fourth in a power move. S. Schuneman sent a sweet pass to B. Pauli who muscled the ball up and in. She also drew a foul and added her free throw to put up three points the hard way – her eighth point of the evening. Redfield walked again – their 21st turnover.  Milbank’s shot missed and Bree Townsend fouled on the rebound. Neither shot from the line was good for Redfield, so the score stayed at 41-21. 

S. Schuneman stole the ball in transition and hustled down to the basket to put the Lady Dawgs up 43-21. Redfield’s Charli Jungwirth matched it with  a 3-pointer to put the score at 43-24. Lady Bulldog Violet Johnson, who had just entered the game, let one fly from downtown. It rolled in off the back and Milbank claimed their 11th 3-ball of the night.

Ahead at 46-24, Milbank sent Jungwirth to the line. She collected one. A. Schuneman also got to the line. She made both and the score moved to 48-25. Sisters S. Schuneman and A. Schuneman performed a tag-team move with a nice pass from Susie to Avery, who recorded two points. 

After bodies went flying, B. Pauli headed to the line to gain two more points for Milbank. A. Schuneman pulled the trigger on  a big baseline triple – Milbank’s 12th – to get the score to 55-25 with less than two minutes left on the game clock. Milbank sent Smith to the stripe for two. She made one. In a last hurrah, Redfield’s Madysen Morrissette made a 3–pointer to end the game at 55-29.

Four Lady Bulldogs hit double figures. A. Pauli scored 15 points. S. Schuneman made 13.  B. Pauli and A. Schuneman each added 10 points. Neugebauer scored four and Johnson made three.  A. Pauli knocked in five 3-pointers. S. Schuneman had three. A. Schuneman and B. Pauli made two. Johnson got one. A. Pauli added five assists. A. Schuneman, S. Schuneman, and Neugebauer each made three assists. Townsend contributed two assists.  A. Schuneman, S. Schuneman, and B. Pauli got three steals apiece. Neugebauer had two. B. Pauli and Townsend each snagged one. Neugebauer was Milbank’s leading rebounder. She got eight. B. Pauli had six. A. Pauli, A. Schuneman, S. Schuneman, and Townsend grabbed one apiece.

The Lady Bulldogs connected on nearly 38 percent of their shots from the floor. They made 34 percent from beyond the arc. Milbank downed three of seven from the foul line for 43 percent 

The Lady Pheasants were led by Gall, who put up 11 points including two triples. She added eight rebounds. Smith scored seven points and got four rebounds. Jungwirth made four points and two rebounds. Redfield hit nearly 35 percent of their shots from the floor. They made 40 percent from long range and seven of 10 from the charity stripe.

MILBANK       8     9     21     17     55
REDFIELD     7     3     11       8      29

The JV girls played before the varsity girls. Milbank also defeated Redfield 40-7.