Lady Raiders Continue to Roll

Sidney's Lady Raider basketball team continued their strong start to the 2018-19 season with two more victories over the weekend. On Friday, Sidney hosted the Fort Morgan, Colo., Lady Mustangs at Sidney High School, and after a fast paced but low scoring start to the game, pulled away for an easy 60-to-22 victory.

The teams battled back and forth in the opening minutes, but both sides were unable to cash in for points until the 5:32 mark of the first quarter when Sidney senior Megan Ross drained a three-pointer to put up Sidney's first points of the contest. That score was immediately countered by Fort Morgan's Allie Christensen's three-point bucket on the ensuing possession. Fort Morgan then hit another three, then scored two more baskets to put the Lady Mustangs up 10-to-3. The Sidney girls were having trouble hitting their shots, so Sidney head coach Tyler Shaw called a time out to refocus his squad and slow down the pace.

The tactic worked, as Sidney started to make their shots and the defense clamped down on the visitors, and Sidney ended the first period down by two, 10-to-8. The second period had junior Mattie Johnson take control, hitting a series of short shots and layups, and with 2:34 left in the half the Lady Raiders were in control, leading 22-to-15. The Fort Morgan offense had stalled out on a combination of suffocating Sidney defense and ice-cold shooting. By the end of the half, the Lady Raiders had built a 28-to-15 lead, and continued their lights out defensive play and sharp shooting into the second half, eventually ending the game with a comfortable 60-to-22 victory.

On Saturday the girls traveled to Alliance to take on the rival Lady Bulldogs, and again started with a low scoring first period until seniors Janay Brauer and Megan Ross started to hit long-range three pointers. The Lady Bulldogs kept battling to keep the score close, but the Lady Raider's outside shooting was too much to handle, and Sidney went on an 11-to-0 run in the second quarter that lasted into the the third quarter. The Lady Raiders poured it on in the second half, outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 29-to-15 with all of their starters getting in on the action. Again, the Lady Raider's superior defense and opportunistic offense won the day with a final score of 50-to-29 for their second win in as many days.

The Lady Raider's next travel to Mitchell on Thursday for a non-conference matchup against Keyana Wilfred and the Lady Tigers.