Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper

Defense, rebounding helps Lady Raiders top Gering

When the shots weren't falling early in Friday night's game, Sidney used a strong defensive effort to defeat Gering.

The Lady Raiders (9-4) held the Lady Bulldogs to just 10 first half points en route to the 43-25 victory.

"Gering is a bigger team than we are, so anytime you can hang with them in terms of rebounding you are doing well," Sidney coach Tyler Shaw said.  "Getting second chances against them is huge."

Shaw added limiting Gering's inside offense turned out to be key in Friday's game.

"We did a decent job defending the interior against them," he said.  "They like to pound the ball inside and our posts did a great job of defending inside."

The game was nip-and-tuck early and tied at 6-all when Katelyn Sylvester's trey put Sidney up 9-6 with 57 seconds left in the opening quarter. The Lady Raiders led for the rest of the game.

Sidney led 12-10 early in the second quarter, before ending the final 6:30 of the half on a 5-0 run. Maddi Porter had four of those points, including a layup off an offensive rebound with 1:12 left in the quarter, that extended the Lady Raiders' lead at the break.

Janay Brauer drove to the hoop for a layup 31 seconds into the third quarter and was fouled, hitting the free throw for a 20-11 lead as the Lady Raiders continued to extend their lead. They held a 32-16 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

Emily Mahr led Sidney with 10 points in the game, while Kelsey Knight added nine. Porter and Brauer scored eight points each.

The Lady Raiders dropped a 51-46 game Saturday at McCook.

"We started sluggish versus McCook in the first quarter.  We came alive offensively and defensively in the second and third quarters," Shaw said. "We let the game slip away when they closed the gap in the fourth quarter and hit a bunch of key shots and free throws. 

"They were the aggressors in the fourth quarter and were getting to the line and hitting outside shots. We had many chances to put the game away, but a few key misses and turnovers in the last minute sealed our fate."

Sidney is back in action Friday with a road contest at Ogallala. The Lady Raiders host Lexington on Saturday.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 03/20/2024 00:39