With a balanced scoring attack the Red Raiders freshmen girls basketball team had little trouble with the Alliance Bulldogs, winning in convincing fashion 48-19 at Cabela's Athletic Facility on Monday.
The Raiders win keeps them perfect at 4-0 going into the long holiday break. Sidney will not play again until they host Garden County on Jan. 16, at 4 p.m.
The Raiders offensive output came from many sources as four players tied for tops in scoring. Kelsey Knight, Annalise Lecher, Abbie Fraas and Abbey Mills all tallied 8 points.
The others to light up the scoreboard included Maddi Porter (6), Brenda Maytorena (3), Megan Rapp (3), Jolene Oliverius (2) and Reilly Svoboda (2).
Sidney's offensive charge began from the opening tip as they streaked out to a 16-0 lead in just over six minutes.
During the opening run the Raiders benefitted from the talents of six different scorers including Lecher, Porter, Mills, Fraas, Knight and Oliverius. Porter and Mills each sank two buckets during the run.
Despite an impressive overall performance the Raiders revealed a chink in their armor, which appeared at the end of the first quarter.
Beginning with 16 seconds left in the first eight minutes, Sidney went on a run of another kind by missing 20 consecutive free throws. Lecher finally broke the ice early in the fourth quarter when she sank two straight.
"We started out on a nice roll but then we got a reality check," said Mills. "We missed a lot of free throws and layups but we continued to play as a team and played good defense."
Though Sidney struggled at the line, they continued to expand their lead at a steady pace throughout the contest. Knight fed Porter and Lecher for two early buckets in the second quarter.
The free throw struggles, however, helped keep the Raiders off the scoresheet again until the final seconds the half, when Knight sank a layup.
A three-point play by Marissa Craig of Alliance accounted for all the visitors scoring in the quarter.
"I think part of my role is to help the team be positive and continue to work hard even if everything isn't going our way," said Porter. "Our foul shooting is better than we showed today."
Knight provided the Raiders with a nice highlight early in the second half as she made a steal in the defensive zone and raced back the other way for a layup. Lecher's put back of an offensive rebound after a missed foul shot accounted for another highlight.
After Lecher broke the free-throw drought early in the final quarter, the Raiders seemed to put their previous troubles behind them. Fraas dropped in two more later in the frame and Rapp another in the final seconds.
"We normally don't shoot free throws that badly but once it starts I just think it becomes like a mental thing," Rapp said. "We always work really well together and that continued today."
Girls Basketball
Sidney 48
Alliance 19
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