Lady Raiders post pair of wins

While Scottsbluff put a stop to Sidney's five-game winning streak back on Jan. 23, the Lady Raiders responded with the perfect solution – start another five-game winning streak.

Rather than being the terminus of an unbeaten streak, the Lady Bearcats (6-9, 6-1) were this time around the continuation of one. The Raiders (14-6, 5-1) earned their fifth consecutive win by avenging their only district loss of the season with a 47-27 win over Scottsbluff at the Cabela's Athletic Facility Saturday night.

"I'm really proud of the girls," said head coach Tyler Shaw, who continued his quick substitutions of the night before due to illness on the team. "The last time we played them it was a little crazy. Tonight I wanted to see a better effort with more intensity than we had last time and that's what I saw."

The last time these two squared off in Scottsbluff, the Raiders yielded their highest point total of the season in a 68-57 loss. On that occasion, Zoe Holscher scorched the Raiders for 28 points including 18 in the first quarter. In shaving 41 points off the Bearcats previous total, Sidney also restricted Holscher to just a single point.

"We didn't underestimate her this time," said Annalise Lecher. "Our defense wasn't there last time but we were much better this time playing together as a team."

With just three more games on the schedule, the Raiders are now in a commanding position to repeat as the top seed in the upcoming district tournament. With the NSAA point total being the determining factor in seeding, Sidney is 12th on the Class B list, while the Bearcats are 20th.

It was still a close game after the opening period when Erin Bown sent a surge of momentum the Raiders way opening the second stanza. From deep in the right corner, Bown staggered the Bearcats with a net-bending three just 11 seconds in to send Sidney off on a 10-0 run.

Between the end of the first quarter to the halfway point of the second, Sidney erased its only deficit (7-5) of the game with a 16-0 surge for a 21-7 lead. The Raiders never looked back. Annalise Lecher helped fuel the run with a pair of put-backs from under the hoop.

Though the Bearcats' Shayleigh James ended the run with a three pointer, Abby Heller counter punched with a three pointer and a layup later in the period to keep Scottsbluff at bay. The half ended with Sidney holding a 28-12 lead.

Maddie Stafford provided the highlight for the Raiders in the third quarter as she completed a four-point play. She sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key and finished the shot on her back after being fouled. The ensuing foul shot helped the Raiders to double up the Bearcats after 24 minutes, 36-18.

The Raiders established their largest lead of the game in the fourth quarter at 47-23 before the Bearcats whittled four points of the final margin.

"Last time we had so many defensive lapses so it was nice to see how much better we were tonight," said Emily Mahr.

It took about 15 seconds for Ashley Stafford to record the Raiders first bucket on Saturday with Savanna Rosenbaum quick to follow for a 4-0 lead over the first 45 seconds. While Sidney fell behind just once in the contest at 7-5, a 6-0 run in the final 1:05 of the opening quarter set up the Raiders explosive start to the second.

Another balanced scoring attack was led by Rosenbaum with eight points. Lecher added seven while Heller, Mahr and Ashley Stafford contributed six each.

Sidney has just three games left on its schedule before districts open up at McCook on Feb. 24. A big challenge awaits Sidney on Friday when Chadron (14-6) comes to town. The Lady Cardinals are on a two-game losing streak, but have played the Raiders tough on two occasions this year despite failing to earn a win.