Sidney girls win two in a row at home

The Sidney girls’ basketball team is now tied for first place with Scottsbluff in the District B-6 standings at 1-0 after beating Alliance at home on Saturday, 44-35.

The Lady Raiders also picked up a win on Friday by beating Ft. Morgan, Colo., 47-26, upping their overall record to 5-2.

In all, it was a standout weekend for Sidney junior Annalise Lecher as she was strong on offense for the Lady Raiders in both games – including an 8-point performance against Alliance in the fourth period of that match.

Sidney 44, Alliance 35

The Lady Raiders put the hammer down on the Lady Bulldogs in the first half of the game, outscoring their B-6 rivals 22-15 heading into the halftime break. A big part of that lead came from Kelsey Knight as she opened the first period with back-to-back scoring gambits off a deuce and a three-point shot.

With 4:44 to go in the first period, the Lady Raiders led 9-0, but a strong late-period push by Alliance saw them add seven points by the beginning of the second period.

With 10 seconds remaining in the first period, Meaghan Ross dropped a booming trey for her only points in the game.

After leading by as much as nine, the Lady Raiders allowed the Lady Bulldogs to contain them to just nine points in the second period, while adding eight points of their own.

The game was much tighter in the second half as each team scored 11 and 10 points in the final two periods, respectively.

One of the biggest two-play setups of the game for Sidney came in the waning minutes of third period when Knight blasted the second of her three treys with two minutes to go. That play was followed by a steal and coast-to-coast deuce from Emily Mahr to make it 31-22.

With seven minutes left in the fourth period, Knight put up her third three-pointer and the defense of Sidney took over and held firm, despite a series of turnovers, to get the win.

After the game, Knight, who led her squad with 14 points, said the 13-point first quarter drive by Sidney made the difference in the win.

“I think we came out with a lot of energy in the first period and that helped us a lot as a team,” Knight said.

Lecher ended the night with 13 points off five buckets and a 3-of-4 performance from the line. Mahr finished with eight points, while Abbey Mills penciled in two buckets for four. Maddi Porter finished with two points.

Sidney now has a weeklong break from competition as the squad prepares for the Cabela’s Holiday Shootout, which begins Dec. 28 and runs through Dec. 30 at Sidney High School. The Red Raiders will face Torrington, Wyo., in the first round on Dec. 28 at 5:30 p.m.

Sidney 47, Ft. Morgan 26

The Lady Raiders beat back Ft. Morgan, Colo., on Friday night, 47-26, in a game that saw Lecher and Porter lead the scoring effort with nine points each.

It was another night where freshman Janay Brauer made back-to-back three pointers early in the match.

Mahr and Katelyn Sylvester also had three-point shots in the game. Lecher went 3-of-3 from the line.

The combination of good perimeter and inside shooting by Sidney, as well as an effective defensive scheme on the other side of the court, allowed the Lady Raiders to take a 22-13 lead into halftime.

In the second half it just kept rolling for Sidney; head coach Tyler Shaw’s team blasted its way to a 25-13 rip of the Lady Mustangs and got the win against Ft. Morgan.

Other scorers for Sidney were: Mahr (8), Brauer (6), Sylvester (5), Knight (4), Abby Heller (2), Jasmine Jallen (2) and Ross (2).