Lady Raiders Defeat Scottsbluff, Faces Alliance in District Finals

Sidney's Lady Raiders basketball squad defeated the Scottsbluff Lady Bearcats in the first round of the Subdistrict B-8 tournament Monday night at home, 48-33.

The game was marked by tight, defensive struggle through the first half that saw the visiting Lady Bearcats take a lead at halftime. The Lady Raiders were able to make the necessary adjustments during the intermission to regain the lead and put the Lady Bearcats away in impressive fashion.

Sidney entered the tournament as the number one seed, and were matched against a familiar opponent in the Lady Bearcats who they had beaten twice before this season. The third contest turned out to be the toughest, at least for the first half of play.

The first quarter started slowly, with both teams turning the ball over and having difficulty scoring. Sidney had not played a game in nine days, and the rust clearly showed as they missed many easy shots. As the second quarter progressed, Sidney's offense continued its' cold streak and the Lady Bearcats were able to pull ahead, ending the first half leading by one, 18-17.

But the intermission rejuvenated the Lady Raiders, and they came out strong and quickly re-took the lead and continued battling the scrappy Lady Bearcats attack. By the end of the third period, Sidney had taken a four point lead, and pulled away from the visitors through the final quarter. Sidney's defense started to dominate the boards, and by the last half of the period completely controlled the game. Scottsbluff was put into a position to force fouls, and fell further behind while not converting their own scoring opportunities.

The Lady Raiders outscored the visitors 31-15 in the second half, and turned a close game at the half into a comfortable 15 point victory. Sidney junior Meaghan Ross led all scorers with 15 points on the night, including nine points from beyond the three point line. Sidney was scheduled to face Alliance in the Subdistrict Tournament Final Tuesday.