Three Lady Punchers earn All-Conference honors
BIG PINEY – The 2022-2023 winter sports season came to an end in early March and the Wyoming Coaches Association released its annual honor rosters for girls’ basketball.
Three Big Piney High School Lady Punchers – seniors Sharianne Brower, Rayne Sorensen and Hannah Runyan – snagged 2A West All-Conference honors.
Head Coach Brian Espenscheid praised the efforts the All-Conference players and his senior class, including Shelby Guest, put into a successful and exciting season.
“Our seniors played basketball all four years of high school,” Espenscheid said. “That is a testament to their commitment – it’s a lot to get through four years of any sport. The seniors are each stellar and hardly missed a practice over four years. They were super coachable and I’m proud of the way they handled the (2022-2023) season. Sharianne, Rayne, Hannah and Shelby all represented Big Piney with class.”
Brower finished the season ranked fourth in the 2A conference statewide with a 3-point field goal percentage of 37 percent. Brower scored two outside shots against both Wind River on Feb. 23 and Shoshoni on Jan. 28.
Offensively, Brower delivered 45 season assists, averaging 2.1 per game and ranked ninth in the 2A West Conference. Brower also grabbed 37 offensive rebounds.
On defense, Brower snagged 63 rebounds, rustled 47 steals and made three blocks.
During the Jan. 20 game against St. Stephens, Brower tallied nine steals and five assists.
Brower scored 110 points throughout the season, averaging 5.2 points per game.
“Sharianne was the Swiss Army knife of the team,” said Coach Espenscheid. “She loves basketball and was up for whatever came her way and would play any position. She led the team in 3-pointers.”
Runyan excelled at both ends of the court. Averaging 6.9 rebounds per game, Runyan was ranked fourth in the 2A West Conference.
On defense, Runyan totaled 105 rebounds, 14 steals and 12 blocks. Runyan ranked eighth in the 2A West Conference for blocks.
On Jan. 28, Runyan contributed 18 rebounds in the game against Shoshoni. Playing Wind River on Feb. 23, Runyan snared 14 rebounds and made 3 blocks. The senior blocked two attempts to score in games against both Greybull on Dec. 17 and Wyoming Indian High School on Feb. 24.
Runyan netted 130 points for the season.
“Hannah led the team in rebounds,” said Coach Espenscheid. “She was the spark plug on the fast break – getting that rebound and moving the ball out quickly.”
Sorensen stacked up the points for the Lady Punchers, tossing in 172 points over the season. On Feb. 4, Sorensen posted 26 points against Wind River, the second-best performance in the 2A West Conference for the 2022-2023 season. Sorensen also snagged 14 rebounds during the game.
On Jan. 31, Sorensen netted 15 points against Farson.
The senior rustled 50 steals over the course of the season, tallying six steals against St. Stephens on Feb. 10.
Sorensen averaged 8.6 points per game and shot at 58 percent from the free throw line and 41 percent from inside the perimeter.
Offensively, Sorensen made 34 rebounds and 20 assists. Sorensen totaled 71 defensive rebounds.
“Rayne was our top scorer and led the team with energy and heart,” said Coach Espenscheid. “She played with tenacity, working through a knee injury to continue playing at the end of the season.”