The Sevastopol Pioneers have earned themselves a Regional Final home game after handling the Wabeno/Laona Rebels 50-21 in Institue Friday night.  

After the teams exchanged empty possessions to open the game, the Pioneers hit the first of six three-pointers of the half, jumping to the early 3-0 lead. Sevastopol's offense kept the ball moving, swinging the ball around the arc, finding open opportunities, and making the best of them.  Kayla Ranly also found herself at the free throw stripe, going 3-7 in the first half.  The defense of the Pioneers gave the Rebels fits, keeping the Rebels to just 10 points in the first half, holding a 27-10 lead at the break.  

The second half started just how Sevastopol wanted.  Ella Volkmann hit a pair of 3's continuing the hot hands.  Kayla Ranly also hit a second-half three, and a pair of free throws to make her the leading scorer on the night with 14.  Naomi Rikkola followed behind her with 9, followed by Volkmann with 8 and Sadie Rikkola with 6.

On the other half of the bracket, top-seeded Gillett was knocked off by Florence, meaning the Sevastopol Pioneers will host a home game for the Regional Final.  You will be able to hear it on U102.1 and the New Radio Sports Network on Monday beginning at 5:45 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the opening tip at 6 p.m. 

A first-half deficit only grew larger in the second half as the Sevastopol boys basketball team fell to Peshtigo 52-43 on the road Thursday night.

The Bulldogs took command of the game thanks to the first-half exploits of Dominik Baxter, who hit three three-pointers en route to 16 points in the opening frame. The Pioneers, ravaged by sickness and injuries as of late, were able to spread the ball around to compete hard against the Bulldogs, with six different players scoring at least two points in the first half to trail their hosts 28-22 at the break. Andrew Wiesner knocked down a pair of threes in both halves en route to a 13-point game to pace the Pioneers. Paulie Gnasbasik scored 10 points and two others scored at least six points in the Pioneers loss. Baxter ended his night for the Bulldogs with 25 points, two players added five points, and another trio added four points a piece.

The Pioneers will open the WIAA Tournament next Tuesday against Kewaunee at 7 p.m. Paul Schmitt and Eric Fischer will have the call on 104.1 WRLU beginning at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show.

The Sevastopol Pioneers girls basketball team will be in a similar situation to last year on Friday night when they welcome Wabeno/Laona to the Institute for the WIAA Regional Semifinal in the Division 5 Girls Basketball Tournament.

The Pioneers earned their spot with a resounding 70-13 win over Wausaukee on Tuesday. The game's early minutes started slow, but the traps started forcing turnovers, and the Pioneers slowly but surely pulled out to a 53-7 halftime lead. Kayla Ranly led the scorers in the first half with 15 of her game-leading 17 points. In all, 10 different Pioneers found their way into the score column, including Naoimi Rikkola with 10, Sienna Cain with 9, and Lyvia Duessler with 8.

Click here for pregame interview with head coach Ben Rikkola

The Rebels find themselves back in Institute for the second year in a row after beating St. Thomas Aquinas by an equally lopsided 50-12. They graduated three players from last year's squad that eliminated the Pioneers on the road 60-31 in the regional final before losing their next game to Lena. In that matchup, Allison Albrecht scored 16 points, and Lily Terry chipped in 13 points in the Rebels win. Naomi Rikkola was the lone Pioneers player to reach double figures with 15 points. 

In a matchup earlier this season, Kayla Ranly scored 25 points, and Rikkola added another 17 as the Pioneers beat the Rebels 63-43 in Wabeno. 

Jacob Nate and Tim Kowols will have the call from Sevastopol on U-102.1 beginning at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the opening tip at 7 p.m.

The Pioneers advance to play Wabeno/Leona after handling the Wausaukee Rangers 70-13 Tuesday night at home. 

The early minutes of the game started slow, but the traps started forcing turnovers, and the Pioneers slowly but surely pulled out to a 53-7 halftime lead. Kayla Ranly led the scorers in the first half with 15 of her game-leading 17 points. In all, 10 different Pioneers found their way into the score column, including Naoimi Rikkola with 10, Sienna Cain with 9, and Lyvia Duessler with 8.

Sevastopol earned another home game Friday night in a regional semi-final against Laona-Wabeno. The game can be heard on U102.1 and is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff. Pregame is at 6:45 p.m. 

The Sevastopol Pioneers boys basketball team kept Carter Koch under control, but it was Cooper Campshure that led the Oconto Blue Devils to the 73-49 victory Monday night.

Campshure drained six three-pointers en route to a 28-point evening, including 10 points in the first half that helped the Blue Devils take a 30-19 advantage into the locker room. Andrew Wiesner tried to help the Pioneers get back into the game in the second half, scoring 14 of his team-high 19 points. Cash Kuehn hit three three-pointers en route to a 10-point night, while Marek O'deon registered nine points. Koch scored 15 points, along with Campshure's 28 points, in the Blue Devils' win.

The Sevastopol Pioneers will begin their playoff run Tuesday night with a home game against the visiting Wausaukee Rangers.

The Pioneers wrapped up the regular season on a 14-game win streak which helped them finish 2nd in the Packerland Conference with a 14-2 conference and 19-4 overall record.

The Rangers come out of the Marinette & Oconto Conference, and finished the season with a 1-21 record.

Last season, Sevastopol's season ended in the Regional Finals with a 31-60 loss to Wabeno/Laona.

The Sevastopol Pioneers girls basketball team allowed no Peshtigo players to reach double figures in a 60-29 win to wrap up their regular season Thursday night.

The Pioneers' defense was particularly stingy in the first half , allowing just nine points in the opening stanza. That was less than Naomi Rikkola's 11 points and matched Kayla Ranly's nine points in the opening frame. The game opened up in the second half as the teams emptied their benches with at least seven players from each team scoring at least one point. Ranly led the way with 16 points while Rikkola contributed 13 points and three others added at least six points. Athena Powers led the Bulldogs with six points.

The Pioneers will be cheering for the Bulldogs on Friday night when they face Kewaunee. A Bulldogs win would give the Pioneers a share of the Packerland Conference crown. 

The Sevastopol girls basketball team won their 13th game in a row on Monday, beating Oconto 55-43 at home.

The Pioneers' defense pestered the Blue Devils in space as they allowed just five made field goals in the first half, the same number Naomi Rikkola made by herself as Sevastopol entered the locker room with a 28-19 advantage. The Blue Devils' Addisyn Viestenz made up for her slow start, scoring 15 of her team-high 20 points in the second half. She was no match for the two-headed monster of Rikkola (22 points) and Kayla Ranly (17 points) as they combined for 39 points in the Pioneers win. Addison Schauske contributed eight points and Ella Volkmann added five points in the Pioneers victory.

Kewaunee's Jade Kroll registered her 1,000th point against Sevastopol on Monday night, but it was the Pioneers that got to celebrate at 41-37 win in Institute.

Kroll entered the game just needing seven points for the milestone, a seemingly easy task for a girl averaging over 20 points per game. The Pioneers' defense ensured she would have to wait with its suffocating defense, allowing the Storm star to register six of the team's 22 points in the first half. The Storm's defense was just as tough, allowing just 21 points in the first half with five made three-pointers a saving grace for the Pioneers. Kroll would eclipse the record on her second made free throw in second half en route to an eight point game. Meanwhile, Naomi Rikkola's free throw shooting provided the difference as she made all four of her free throw attempts to help the Pioneers avenge an earlier season loss.

Rikkola led the Pioneers with 14 points with sister Sadie adding 10 points and Kayla Ranly chipping in nine points. For the Storm, Gabby Stangel paced the team with 10 points to complement Kroll's eight points. Two other players contributed five points in the loss.

Both teams are back in action on Tuesday with non-conference games with the Storm traveling to Menasha (7 p.m.) and Sevastopol visiting Oneida Nation (7 p.m.). For the Storm, the Blue Jays are 10-10 on the season and coming off their second straight loss. They are led by Hannah Neubert, who averages a double-double with 17.5 ppg and 11.7 rpg. The Pioneers face a Thunderhawks squad that just broke a two-game skid with a 53-48 overtime win over Menominee Nation. Mariah Cloud and Jaylyn Caldwell take turns leading the team in scoring and rebounding with Caldwell also pacing the team in assists. Both games are at 7 p.m.

The Sevastopol Pioneers girls basketball team will try to knock Kewaunee out of the driver's seat of the Packerland Conference on Monday when the two teams meet in Institute.

The Pioneers are boasting a 10-game winning streak entering the evening, with their last loss coming against the Storm 53-35. In their last game, Kayla Ranly led the Pioneers with 25 points while Sadie Rikkola added 13 points and Naomi Rikkola chipped in with 11 points as they beat Gibraltar 74-35. 

The Storm's winning streak stands two after losing to Sheboygan Falls on January 24th. Prior to that, the Storm was running on its own 10-game winning streak. Jade Kroll is leading the team with 20.7 ppg and 6.0 rpg .

Tip-off for the rescheduled game is set for 7:15 p.m.

The Sturgeon Bay Clippers were able to fight their way back into the game and eventually beat the Sevastopol Pioneers 61-60 in overtime Friday night in Institute.

The game had everything you could want in a high school basketball game. Neighboring towns, scoring streaks, double-digit leads, offensive fouls, players fouling out, bench players contributing, loud student sections, teacher appreciation night, overtime, and, to cap it all off...free throws with less than 5 seconds to decide the game.

The Clippers opened the game on a 9-2 run, beginning with a layup by Braden Evers on the opening possession. Pioneer head coach Tom Ash called a timeout, and his team responded with a 17-2 run of their own. At halftime, the score was a 6-point lead for the hometown Pioneers, 26-20.

The entire second half was a back-and-forth slugfest that included several lead changes. The biggest lead in the second half was 8 points. Sam Fruzyna hit three momentum-grabbing three pointers in the second half. Jackson Star would foul out late in the half, ending his night early with a game-leading 19 points. Logan Schuh would foul out in overtime, capping his night off with just 3 points. In his stead, Andrew Weisner would be a significant contributor to the Pioneers. He led the Pioneers in scoring in each half, with 8 in the first and 10 in the second. 

Overtime was much the same as the second half. It all came down to the final seconds of the game. The game was tied at 60, with the Clippers having the ball and under 30 seconds to go. Hayden Tracy would dribble down the clock and get fouled driving to the hoop as time ticked away, stopping the clock at 4.9 seconds. 

After a Pioneer timeout, Tracy headed to the line for his two free throws. The first came up short, giving the Pioneers' student sections added reason to get loud. However, Tracy made his second, giving the Clippers a one-point lead and the victory.

Leading scorers for each team...

Clippers...Jackson Star-19, Braden Evers-13, Sam Fruzyna-9

Pioneers...Andrew Weisner-18, Zaul Valdivia-10, Pailuie Gnabasik-10

Another big night from Kayla Ranly helped the Sevastopol Pioneers blow past Gibraltar in Fish Creek for a 74-35 win.

Both teams were pestered by each other defensive sets early in the game with the Pioneers' pressure and the Vikings' zone forcing several passes to go wide of the mark or into the hands of a willing defender. Ranly and Addison Schauske made the Vikings pay when they had the opportunity as they knocked down six of the team's seven first half three pointers as they built up their lead. The Pioneers held the Vikings scoreless for nearly eight minutes at the end of the half with Mikala Gorham breaking the run with 36 seconds left in the period. Bridget Tepe made a layup with just seconds remaining in the half before Kayla Ranly gave the Pioneers a 38-16 halftime lead with a halfcourt three at the buzzer.

The Pioneers would build their lead to as much as 40 points in the second half as Ranly continued to pour in points while Naomi Rikkola and Brynn Schartner picked up the scoring pace.Gorham showed that the Vikings would not quit in the second half as she hit two threes in the second half to end her night with a team-high 13 points.

 

 

 

 

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Ranly led the Pioneers with 25 points while Sadie Rikkola added 13 points and Naomi Rikkola chipped in with 11 points. Anna Jarosh complemented Gorham with eight points and Celeste Jauregui contributed four points in the Vikings loss.

The Vikings are back in action on Friday night when they play NEW Lutheran while the Pioneers will wait until Saturday for their matinee showdown against Kewaunee.