The Sidney Red Raider Basketball teams usually open their season with the Western Conference Tournament, but this year the tournament was rescheduled for late January. The Red Raider teams traveled to Chadron on Friday for a pair of season opening games against the Cardinals.
The girls game was first, and the Lady Raiders battled hard against a tough Lady Cardinal team. Sidney took a 10-to-8 edge at the end of the first quarter, and opened a five-point lead during the second quarter. The Lady Cardinals finished the period strong, matching Sidney's 13 points in the quarter, and the Lady Raiders held a slim two point advantage at the halftime break, 23-to-21.
Sidney's offense struggled in the third period, putting up just 2 points while the Chadron girls scored 10 to take a 31-to-25 lead entering the final period. Head Coach Tyler Shaw got his charges focused, and the Lady Raiders battled hard through a strong fourth quarter. Senior Payton Schrotberger hit a field goal with 24 seconds left to play to give Sidney a 44-to-43 lead. The Lady Cardinals battled hard for the final points to put them over the top, but they missed three short-distance shots in the final seconds, and Sidney was able to steal away the one-point 44-to-43 victory.
Juniors Jordan DeNovellis, Carli Black and Kayla Westby all had eight points in the victory for Sidney.
The boys team did not have as much trouble in their game with the Cardinals, opening up a 19-to-7 lead in the first quarter and never trailed in the game. Sidney built a 24-to-13 lead at the halftime break, but Chadron started to cut into the lead in the third quarter. Chadron went on a run early in the fourth quarter to cut Sidney's lead to just six points in the final stanza, but the Red Raiders pulled away, powered by three - three-point hits by senior Isak Doty down the stretch. Sidney took home a 58-to-35 victory to start their season. Doty hit six three point shots in the game, and finished with 20 points to lead the Sidney offense.
On Saturday, the Raiders traveled to Brush, CO, to match up with the Beetdigger teams. The Brush teams were overmatched, and both Sidney squads cruised to victories. The Lady Raiders built a big lead early and used full court pressure to limit the Lady Beetdiggers to single digits in scoring each period. The Sidney defense generated 35 Brush turnovers in the 76-to-15 win. Senior Karsyn Leeling led the Lady Raider offense with 22 points, including four three point hits.
The boys also had little trouble with the Beetdiggers. After the Beetdiggers opened an early lead, Sidney found their stroke and opened a 20-to-11 advantage at the end of the first period. The Sidney defense clamped down on the Beetdiggers in the second period, limiting them to just 2 points. In the second half, Sidney opened a 40 point lead to initiate a running clock. The Radiers finished the game with a 71-to-29 victory, led by Alek Doty's 18 points. The Red Raider teams host Chase County on Friday at Sidney High School.
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