The Sevastopol Pioneers will have a rematch of last year's sectional semi-final in the regional final on Saturday after knocking out their county rival Gibraltar 42-23 Friday night.

 

Both teams came out shaky offensively as they went almost the first nine minutes without scoring a basket from the field until Quincy Chomeau's runner in the lane opened the scoring. The Vikings would tack on another point to make 3-0, but the Pioneers would return the favor with a 13-0 run over the next five minutes to take a commanding lead. A big reason why was Kayla Ranly, who scored 11 points in the frame, while Naomi Rikkola chipped in with seven points. The Vikings would add some points on late, but not before the two teams entered the locker room with the Pioneers holding onto a 22-8 lead.

Rikkola kept her pace in the second half as she finished the night with a team-high 15 points, complemented by Ranly's 13 points. Katie Spude also proved to be a force herself, keeping possession alive with her rebounding while scoring four of her eight points in the second half. The Pioneers would stretch the lead out to more than 20 points after they mired in another scoring drought, but Mikala Gorham scored eight of her 11 points coming out of the locker room. Schar ended her night with five points, while McKailey Reisen and Chomeau also made shots from the field.

After the game, Gibraltar head coach Evan DeBroux spoke to how proud he was of his team in their final game of the season.

Sevastopol head coach Ben Rikkola said he was happy his team was able to overcome a slow start, but turned his attention to Saturday's opponent, Wabeno-Laona. The Rebels advanced to the regional final with a 56-27 win over Gillett on Friday one year after advancing to the state semifinal.

Bryan Mazur and Tim Kowols will have the call from Institute Saturday night on 96.7 WBDK and NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com beginning at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the opening tip at 7 p.m.