Sidney Lady Raiders Dunk 40-Year Streak

Sidney's Lady Red Raiders competed last week, in the Class C1 Nebraska State Athletic Association Girls Basketball Championship. After qualifying second seed in the Districts, the Lady Raiders headed to the Devaney for the first round of the tournament. The girls went undefeated the entire season before dropping their first game in the championship round of subdistricts to fellow unbeaten Bridgeport by only seven points. With a record of 22-1, the Lady Raiders rode into Devaney with high hopes and excitement as they started their journey to a potential state championship.

The Lady Raiders would first face the Adams Central Lady Patriots. The Lady Patriots are a seasoned team and would give the Lady Raiders all they could handle. The opening quarter of the game was fast-paced and high-scoring. All totaled, the teams combined for 31 points. Katie Ramsey opened the scoring for the Lady Raiders with a short field goal. The Lady Raiders took an early lead 4-0, but the Lady Patriots fought back to tie the game. The Lady Raiders had a small problem containing the Lady Patriots offense, allowing them to take an 18-8 lead. Kayla Westby sank a jumper, bringing the Lady Raiders to within eight points, before Karsyn Leeling nailed a three, late in the quarter, and the Lady Raiders pulled within five 13-18. It took three minutes into the second before the score changed when Leeling hit a couple of free throws. Payton Schrotberger hit a shot for two, followed by a Ryan Dillehay three to tie the game at 20. With one minute left in the half, the Lady Patriots took a two-point lead 20-22, which closed out the scoring for the half, leaving the Lady Raiders in a great position to start the second half.

Early in the second half, Schrotberger hit a field goal to tie game at 22, before Leeling hit for two to give the Lady Raiders the lead 24-22. Leeling followed with a three for a 27-22 lead. The Lady Patriots rallied and regained the lead with some short jumpers and a three-pointer to end the quarter leading by four, 31-27. The Lady Patriots opened the fourth quarter with another three before the Lady Raiders got to work. After Kayla Westby hit a two-pointer, Katie Ramsey sank a nice three-pointer, bringing the Lady Raiders within two. Schrotberger got fouled and hit a free throw and Westby hit a field goal to give the Lady Raiders a 35-34 lead. The Lady Raiders defense tightened up and held the Lady Patriots to only four points the rest of the game, which was almost enough. After Adams Central tied and then took a one-point lead 38-37, Karsyn Leeling nailed a game-winning three, with 6 seconds remaining, giving the Lady Raiders a 40-38 opening-round victory.

For the second round, the team changed venues to the Pinnacle Bank Arena, to take on the Grand Island Central Catholic Lady Crusaders with a 21-2 record. The Lady Raiders came out aggressive and defensively against the Lady Crusaders, holding the GICC offense to only two points in the quarter. Payton Schrotberger scored first with a nice jumper, before the Lady Crusaders were able to strike and tie the game. Unfortunately for the GICC team, those would be the last points that the Lady Raiders would allow the Lady Crusaders to score in the quarter. Karsyn Leeling hit a couple of free throws and then nailed a three to give the Lady Raiders a 9-2 lead. Schrotberger then hit a nice jumper for two and Ryan Dillehay hit a free throw to close out the scoring in the starting quarter 12-2. The Lady Crusaders started the second quarter with a three and the Lady Raiders answered back with a three of their own from Katie Ramsey. The score remained at 15-7, until about the three-minute mark when Kayla Westby hit a nice shot for two. Then the Lady Crusaders went on a run, scoring seven unanswered points to bring them within seven points of the Lady Raiders, 19-12, to end the half.

The second half would start with both teams playing for their championship life. Schrotberger would score the first points with a field goal followed by a Leeling three-pointer. Ryan Dillehay hit a field goal and Kayla Westby found room underneath for another two points. With two minutes to go in the stanza, the Lady Red Raiders held a 28-18-point lead. Jordan Denovellis got fouled and hit a free throw, but the Lady Crusaders were clawing back and put up six more points to close the gap. The Lady Raiders headed into the final quarter with a seven-point lead, 31-24. Each team put up 12 points in the quarter. The fourth quarter saw the Lady Raiders fighting for their tournament lives, as the Lady Crusaders were able to put up 11 points while limiting the Lady Raiders to six. Schrotberger started it off for the Lady Raiders with a short jumper for two. Later, Katie Ramsey hit another short jumper to take the Lady Raiders to 35. Kayla Westby got fouled and hit one of two free throws and Leeling hit one of two free throws to give the Lady Raiders 37 points. The Lady Crusaders were able to pull within one point of the Lady Raiders with a short jumper 35-34, but that was as close as they got as the Lady Raiders shut them down and closed out the game. The Lady Red Raiders were now in the championship game the following day.

The championship game would pit the Lady Red Raiders against the Lincoln Christian Lady Crusaders, in a rematch of an earlier game, a 3-point Sidney win, on a neutral court, which was one of only 2 Lady Crusader losses on the season. This set up as an excellent matchup. The first quarter started with the Lady Crusaders going on a six-point run before the Lady Raiders offense was able to put points up. Karsyn Leeling found room outside the arc and hit a three-point shot. Kayla Westby hit a field goal to give the Lady Raiders five, but the quarter ended before the Lady Raiders were able to catch up and they trailed the Lady Crusaders 8-5 at the end. The Lady Raiders offense started to sputter as they were having trouble finding the bottom of the hoop. The Lady Raiders were only able to put up four points in the quarter. Westby hit a nice field goal and Ryan Dillehay hit another for the Lady Raiders only points. The Lady Crusaders were able to find holes in the Lady Raiders defense and put up eight more points. The half ended with the Lady Raiders trailing 9-16.

The start of the second half would belong to the Lady Crusaders who put up 17 points. The Lady Raiders were stymied and just couldn't seem to get the offense moving. Westby hit a nice jumper followed by Felicity Beyer who made another one. Carli Black got fouled and made a couple of free throws. That would end the Lady Raiders scoring in the third quarter. When the buzzer sounded the Lady Raiders trailed the Lady Crusaders 15-33. The fourth quarter would belong to the Lady Red Raiders. Ryan Dillehay hit a three to start off and Beyer made a field goal for a quick five points. Carli Black hit another field goal and the Lady Raiders had closed the gap to 11 points. The Lady Raiders defense then closed the book on the Lady Crusaders and did not let them score for the last four minutes of the game. But the Lady Crusaders' defense was also tough, and the Lady Raiders had to work for every point. Jordynn Schnell hit a field goal and Reagan Nesbitt dropped a free throw. Ashlynn Weinbender sank a free throw late and the game ended. The Lady Red Raiders lost the game 26-38.

The Lady Red Raiders are the 2024 Runner-up in the Nebraska state championship. Congratulations to the Lady Red Raiders and to the Sidney Athletic program on their accomplishments and programs.