Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Annalise Lecher breaks through a screen on her way to two of her 13 points against Torrington (Wyo.) in the first round of the Cabela's Holiday Shootout. Lecher also went 7-of-8 from the free throw line and made five consecutive free throws in the third period.
The Sidney Lady Raiders pounded the Torrington (Wyo.) Lady Blazers last night in the opening round of the 2015 Cabela's Holiday Shootout, taking a 56-39 win to advance to the second-round.
The match with Torrington was a game of solid play from a pair of juniors – Kelsey Knight and Annalise Lecher.
The duo combined for 25 points and Lecher was 7-of-8 from the line, with Knight dropping two three-pointers in the second period.
The night of high-performing juniors continued as Abbey Mills scored six points off two booming three-pointers, including the opening shot of the match.
Another big performance came from junior Maddi Porter as she totaled nine points on four buckets and a free throw.
A scary moment for Sidney, however, came with one minute left in the first period as Torrington's Madi Haun dropped a clutch three-pointer to make it 12-9 in favor of the Lady Raiders.
That's when Knight returned the favor with one of her treys to put Sidney up by six.
The second period was challenging for the Lady Raiders in terms of steals by Torrington. The turnovers allowed the Lady Blazers to come within two points, though a Janay Brauer three-pointer, as well as baskets by Emily Mahr, Knight and Lecher, kept the Lady Raiders going and they entered the locker room up 29-23.
Torrington came out of the halftime break with an eye to stop Lecher and sent her to the line six times – though she went 5-of-6 in the half and tacked on two baskets for nine points.
Sidney never really looked back at that point and outscored Torrington 27-16 in the final two periods.
Lecher, always the optimist for the Lady Raiders, said a halftime discussion was all the team needed to stay on track and take the victory from an aggressive Lady Blazer squad.
"They were a very scrappy team and we talked about that in the locker room, but we knew we could stay up on them and win it," Lecher said. "We knew we needed to flip the switch on and come out more aggressive. In the fourth period we started going for it and the excitement of the game carried us."
Rebounds were also significant for Sidney as the Lady Raiders outrebounded Torrington 16-7 in the game.
"With all the steals they were trying to get from us, being under the basket and getting the rebounds, especially on the offensive side, made a huge difference for us," Lecher added.
Other scorers in the game were: Katelyn Sylvester (6), Brauer (5), Mahr (3) and Jasmine Jallen (2).
The win by Sidney (6-2 overall) sets up a second-round game against Wyoming's Class-A Laramie Lady Plainsmen tonight at 5:30 p.m. in the high school gym.
Laramie made it to the second round after beating Hershey, 45-26, on Monday.
Reader Comments(0)