Mahr scores 30 to set school mark as Raiders down Gering on road

For the Red Raiders this season has been several times marked by record breaking performances. Friday night's contest at Gering was another such night.

Aided by a Sarah Mahr's school-record 30 points, Sidney turned aside the Gering Bulldogs 52-45 on the road in an important Class B6 matchup.

Before the contest the Bulldogs were perched one spot above the Raiders on the NSAA points list in 12th. As a result of the weekend games, Sidney captured the 12th spot while Gering slipped back to 14th.

McCook, the next closest B6 pursuer, stands 22nd.

Shortly after the game concluded Raiders Assistant Coach Matt McKay gave Mahr the news that she had broken the Raiders single-game scoring record. Tanasia Uhrig held the previous record when she dropped in 29 points against Ogallala during the 2009-10 season.

"It's nice," said Mahr with a big smile after hearing the news.

What Mahr and her teammates likely found even nicer was that the Raiders have taken a firm grasp of the district standings. Beginning on the 25th of this month with a play-in game, the Class B District 6 Tournament is scheduled to begin at Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff.

Sidney, however, will not likely begin their quest for a district crown until the tourney proper on Feb. 27.

While the Raiders took hold of Friday's game early, the Bulldogs were determined to make a run in the second half. Sidney established a 15-point lead at the half and increased the margin to 16 early in the third period at 29-13.

From there the 'Dogs slowly began to chip away at the Raiders advantage.

"Coach (Tyler) Shaw told us at halftime that there always seems to be a lot of major comebacks in this building," said Maddie Stafford. "He had us ready to be prepared, so we were ready for what we knew was coming."

On two occassions in the third, however, Gering had a comeback run halted by Katelin Cole's offense. With the Raiders lead narrowed to 31-19, Cole drained a three pointer.

The Bulldogs responded with a 5-0 run, but again Cole stomped the Bulldogs momentum when she completed a three-point play.

Gering kept at it though, and finished the third frame on an 8-2 stretch. Kaylee Spreier accounted for four of the Gering points.

"When they were making a run at us we had to make sure we didn't let down," said Cole. "We had to fight through those little let downs."

After three quarters, a lead that once stood at 16 had been whittled down to single digits, at 39-32. Toni Rosado pared down the lead still more with a free throw to open the final period. But a nice feed from Abbi Porter to Cody Rowley and a deuce by Mahr staved off another Gering run--at least for the moment.

Gering followed Mahr's 2 points with 6 straight of their own to close within shouting distance at 43-39. The see-saw battle that was the fourth quarter then tipped the other way as Sidney took back the momentum with a 7-2 exchange that all but sealed the deal.

Mahr scored 5 in the run and Rachel Petik the other 2. Even a three pointer by Ashlyn Schultz and a three-point play by Spreier proved too late for the Bulldogs to have any real chance.

"We expected them to come back as usual," said Mahr. "We had to keep our own intensity up to stay ahead."

The lead the Raiders built early began with Mahr hitting a jumper from the foul line 32 seconds into the game.

When Mahr finished the first quarter with a three pointer, Sidney had built a 13-7 advantage.

Mahr also opened and closed the scoring in the second eight minutes. She began the stanza with 4 quick points. First she hit a pair of free throws and then made a steal, which she converted into a layup.

The second-period scoring was concluded when she drove the baseline to net another.

Despite the important league victory, the game did not go perfectly smoothly for Sidney. Stafford, the starting guard and an excellent ball handler, was pulled out for precautionary reasons.

She expects to be ready for the trip to Chadron on Friday.

In addition to Mahr's 30 points, Cole finished the game with 10 points while Porter and Petik each had 5.

Porter put in another strong defensive effort with a team high 6 rebounds and 5 shot blocks.

The game at Chadron on Friday is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. tip off.

Girls Basketball

Sidney 52

Gering 45

Friday