Sidney Tops Alliance

It was a showdown between the two best girls basketball teams in B-8 subdistrict action Tuesday night as the Sidney Lady Raiders faced the Alliance Lady Bulldogs in the finals.

The Lady Raiders (20-3, 7-1 in district) had easily defeated the Lady Bulldogs (15-9, 3-2 in district) earlier in the season by 27 points, but this was to be a totally different contest as Alliance had nearly an entire season to adapt to a new system and a new head coach. This time it would take an overtime period with a thrilling finish to decide the winner.

Alliance started out hot scoring the first four points, while Sidney battled back to get on the scoreboard. A physical first period had both teams battling for each score, and Alliance held a 9-7 edge at the end of the first period. Sidney started to roll offensively in the second period, as the Lady Raiders built momentum off of a pair of three pointers by junior Meaghan Ross and a third three pointer by junior Katelyn Sylvester, but Alliance held tough and battled back to tie the game at 25 going into the half.

The surprising Lady Bulldogs battled throughout the entire second half, with both teams trading scores and leads. In the final moments of the game, the Lady Raiders were able to pull ahead only to see Alliance claw their way back and tie the game at 47 in the final seconds of regulation. With a first half that ended in a tie, and then a second half that also ended in a tie, the stage was set for a pressure-packed overtime period to decide the winner.

Alliance scored first in the overtime period, giving the Lady Bulldogs a 49-47 lead, but Sidney fought back and scored three to take a 50-49 lead. After Meaghan Ross was fouled and missed the first attempt on a one-and-one free throw chance, Alliance was set for a last chance to score.

With one second left, Alliance's Makayla Davidson was fouled and went to the free throw line to attempt to tie and possibly win the game for the Lady Bulldogs. But her first attempt bounced off the rim, and Sidney's Katelyn Sylvester grabbed the rebound to end the game 50-49. Meaghan Ross led all scorers with 17 points in the victory.

Sidney hosts Omaha Roncalli Catholic for the District Championship on Saturday at 2 p.m., with the winner moving on to the State Tournament in Lincoln.