Sidney freshmen avenge only loss

Though never easy and seldom was their much breathing room, the freshmen Sidney Lady Raiders avenged their only loss of the season, 40-38, over the Scottsbluff Lady Bearcats at Cabela's Athletic Facility on Monday.

While the Raiders (9-1) were stunned by the Bearcats in a 30-point loss at Scottsbluff earlier this season, Sidney came out with the intention of scuffing up their guests' perfect record. Though there were many blows landed in the contest, Sidney was the first to strike with a 7-0 lead – sending a message that this time around would be a much different afternoon.

Though the Raiders never trailed in the game, the Bearcats were at the Raiders heels much of the way. The Raiders were twice tied, with the second occasion being at 33-33 with 6:15 left in the final quarter. A layup by Charlie Brockhaus and a free throw by Natalie Radcliffe gave Sidney back the lead. But twice more Scottsbluff closed the gap to a single point.

In what turned out to be the fatal blow to the Bearcats, Emily Secrest lined up a 3-pointer with 1:29 left and swished it through the hole for a four-point Sidney advantage. Though the Cats' Hailey Franklin finished off a three-point play 31 seconds later, the Raiders were able to hold their advantage to the end.

"I knew they were undefeated and beat us by 30 points early in the season so I was freaking out a little before the game," Secrest said. "When that three fell I was so excited. Now I'm just really thankful for the win."

With contributions from several different sources, the Raiders served notice their past loss was now a distant memory. Radcliffe, Kara Birner, Brockhaus and Secrest all tickled the twine in the first three minutes to give Sidney its 7-0 advantage. Later in the opening frame Tessa Siler and Ashlyn Christian interrupted a mini Bearcats run, but the Raiders still held the advantage after eight minutes 15-10.

The Bearcats first caught the Raiders in the early going of the second quarter with a Franklin deuce and Taylor Noe's 3-pointer for a 15-15 tie. Sidney responded with its first bout of adversity with an 8-0 run. The Raiders began the burst when Brockhaus bounced a quick inbounds pass under the basket to Christian who promptly sank the layup. Siler and Secrest completed the run. By halftime the Raiders had scraped together a four-point edge at 23-19.

"It was really fun coaching this game," said Raiders' head coach Dan Dorwart. "We avenged our earlier loss mostly because we did a lot of the little things right. The girls attacked the basket much better today like we wanted them to do."

In the early going of the second half, Sidney gave itself some room to work by again establishing a seven-point lead. The Raiders accomplished the trick on buckets by Birner and Christian and free throws by Brockhaus and Secrest. By the end of 24 minutes, Sidney held a five-point lead at 33-28.

"I was a little worried when we weren't making our free throws in the second half," Dorwart said. "But they all kept their composure when things got tight."

Secrest led Sidney in scoring with 12 points while Radcliffe added seven. Siler and Christian chipped in six points each. Franklin was responsible for more than half of the Cats' points with 24.

Next Monday, the Raiders will entertain Torrington, Wyo., at the Cabela's Athletic Facility at 4:30 p.m.