TEN SLEEP - The Ten Sleep Lady Pioneers are hitting a rough patch in their season but look to turn things around before the start of the 1A West regional tournament.

The Lady Pioneers (8-10 overall, 3-4 1A Northwest conference) are in the midst of a three-game losing streak and offensively the team has lost their shooting touch during the losing streak.

"We didn't execute as well in our press offense as we needed to. We've struggled the last three games offensively. Our goal has been to create offense out of our press defense but that hasn't been happening," said TSHS girls basketball coach Sarah Novak.

Friday the Lady Pioneers lost 32-14 to Dubois at Dubois. Then Saturday they hosted the WyoPreps No.1-ranked St. Stephens Lady Eagles and fell 66-22.

"It was a tough weekend," said Novak, "Like (assistant) coach (Halli) Stocklin said we're stuck in the mud but we're four-wheeling out of it."

Against Dubois (10-8 overall, 4-3 1A Northwest conference) the Lady Pioneers struggled the most offensively as they shot 10 percent from the field.

"We shot 75 percent from the free-throw line and got 41 shots up but shot 10 percent from the floor. We beat Dubois in every major category, except for that crucial one," said coach Novak. "(Dubois) only put up 26 shots so that was a bit of a heartbreaker. We were just missing shots that we normally make."

Hosting the No.1-team in the state is always going to be a challenge but to do so after a tough loss adds to the challenge. The Lady Eagles (10-3 overall, 6-0 1A Northwest conference) pressure and athleticism bothered the Lady Pioneers all game long. If St. Stephens was not able to get an easy bucket off a turnover they would knock down 3-pointers, some of which were a foot or two further than an NBA 3-pointer.

"They're the No.1 team in the state for a reason. We got a lot of shots blocked because (St. Stephens) is an exceptionally athletic team," said Novak.

The Lady Pioneers bench has made positive strides during the season, like from guard Charity Starr, and even amidst this current bump in the road Novak has liked what she's seen.

"I think Charity (Starr) is one of our most improved players right now. She's probably earned a starting position but with the energy she brings she's better coming off the bench as a change of pace player," said Novak. "I think we're getting good production from our supporting cast in general. Players like Charity, Kimball Zent and Justyne Dustin have played well all season. The minutes they've given us so far this season have been excellent and just made us a better team."

The losing streak has been an unwelcomed part of the season but the Lady Pioneers are sitting third in the 1A Northwest conference and have a chance this week to wrap-up the No.3 spot and avoid the 1A West regional play-in game with a win vs. Burlington.

"We told them the basketball season isn't over. Our next game vs. Burlington is important and our goal will be to finish strong and make it to the regional tournament," said coach Novak. "We're doing multiple things well and have gotten better as the season has gone along. We just need to get back to being ourselves and build some momentum for the tournament."

This week the Lady Pioneers finish the regular season. Friday's 5:30 p.m. game vs. Rocky Mountain JV will be the final home game for the Lady Pioneer as well as the final home game for seniors Madison Anderson, Dustin, Riley Erickson and Allison Hampton.

Saturday Ten Sleep travels to Burlington for a 4 p.m. game against the Lady Huskies.