Lady Raiders finish tourney in third place

When the Lady Raiders basketball team took the floor against Wheatland (Wyo.) on Wednesday in the third-place game of the 2015 Cabela's Holiday Shootout, no one in attendance could have imagined the offensive fury that would be unleashed by Sidney junior Kelsey Knight.

Try 16 points, courtesy of four consecutive 3-pointers in the first half paired with two baskets in the third period, to help boost the Lady Raiders to a 47-25 win over the Lady Bulldogs.

The drive shown by Knight was likely an outpouring of energy unspent; she sat on the bench the majority of the previous night, during the Lady Raiders' 59-42 loss to Laramie, after getting into foul trouble early.

Knight eventually fouled out in the fourth period.

If Knight wasn't able to make a contribution against Laramie, she certainly did against Wheatland. Right out of the gate she scored back-to-back treys in the first period, followed by another two threes in the second.

Those 12 points, combined with eight points from Emily Mahr, four apiece from Katelyn Sylvester and Annalise Lecher, and a deuce from Jasmine Jallen, gave Sidney a commanding 30-13 lead at the half buzzer.

Twenty-two of those points came in the first period alone.

Lecher also finished the game in double digits with 12 points off three buckets and a 6-of-9 go at the line.

After the game, Knight said she came out focused on Wheatland and that the shots she made were just a part of that focus.

"After sitting on the bench last night and only getting about 10 minutes of playing time, I came out tonight and tried my best to play good defense and get my shots in, which they did," Knight said.

The game was a big one for head coach Tyler Shaw. He said the win was decided in the first eight minutes of the game.

"I feel like we came out in the first quarter with a lot of energy," Shaw said. "It was a 10 a.m. game on the third day of playing, so I think that first quarter was very good on both sides and we outscored them 22-5, which made the difference."

The Lady Raiders were also stable at the line, shooting 55 percent by going 10-of-18.

Comprehensive stats for the game were not available by press time.

Sidney will return to its home court on Thursday against Kimball at 5:30 p.m. and will host Gering the next evening, also at 5:30 p.m.

The Raiders will travel to McCook on Saturday, Jan. 9 with tip-off set for 4 p.m.