Pioneers 59... Casper 887 

The MCC Pioneers fought hard in the debut of Interim Head Coach Sam Kortum but didn't have enough in the tank to defeat Region IX Casper as the Thunderbirds knocked off the Pioneers 88-59 on Friday night in Coeur d' Alene, ID. 

Three Thunderbirds scored in double figures as Casper turned a 27-18 1st quarter lead to a 52-31 bulge at the half and did not look back in the 2nd half. Andi Schissler led the way for the T-Birds with 19 points (7-15 FG, 1-5 3's, 4-5 FT) and also had a team high 7 rebounds. 

The Pioneers were led by Lainey Smith (Miles City, MT) with 12 points (5-13 FG, 2-5 3's) and Isabelle Gurie (Columbus, MT) with 10 points (5-5 FG) and 6 rebounds. Gracie Anderson (Harlowtown, MT) also had 6 rebounds for MCC. 

Inside the Box Score

• The Pioneers shot 23-52 (45%) from the field and 8-23 (35%) from the 3-point line. MCC hit just 5-9 at the free throw line. 
• Casper shot 35-84 (42%) from the field and only 4-27 (15%) from the 3-point line. The T-Birds were 14-18 from the free throw line. 
• Casper outrebounded Miles 37-23. Capser had 17 offensive rebounds and Miles had only 1. 
• MCC had 27 turnovers compared to just 13 for CC. 

The Pioneers fall to 2-7 on the season and face North Idaho College on Saturday in Coeur d' Alene, ID at 1:00 PM MST.