Lady Raiders Advance To State

On paper it looked like the Lady Raiders wouldn't have much trouble getting past the Roncalli Catholic Crimson Pride to wrap up the district title and move on to the state tournament.

The Lady Raiders record going into the game (20-3) was far superior to Roncalli Catholic's (11-15). But the Lady Crimson Pride played with intensity, and gave it their all, keeping the game tight until the final moments of the fourth quarter.

"They're (Roncalli Catholic) a scrappy team - we had to adjust and get scrappy too to keep with them," said Sidney head coach Tyler Shaw after his team's 44-35 victory Saturday afternoon.

By scrappy he means a team that is constantly challenging your players, putting pressure on the opponent's offense, creating turnovers and mismatches, and forcing bad shots. Roncalli Catholic did all of those things to put themselves in the best possible position to win. The problem for Roncalli Catholic was that the Lady Raiders are an even scrappier team, and they proved it on a night where they pressured the Lady Crimson Pride into 24 turnovers-eight coming in the critical fourth period alone. On a day that the Lady Raiders didn't have their offense firing on all cylinders, and on a day where their free-throw shooting let them down, that scrappy defense carried them throughout the game and left no doubt as to why this is the best team in the district.

Sidney started the game with a pressure defense that created problems for the visitors, causing turnovers and bad passes and leading to a Lady Raider 14-9 lead at the end of the first. But the Lady Crimson Pride made their adjustments and started to gain ground on the Lady Raiders throughout the second period, going ahead 21-20 until Sidney junior Meaghan Ross nailed a three pointer in the final seconds of the half to give the Lady Raiders the lead at halftime, 23-21.

"Meaghan's three pointer at the end of the half was huge-it shifted the momentum back to us going into the half," said Shaw.

The third quarter started with the Lady Raiders hitting another three pointer to take a 26-21 lead, but Roncalli Catholic battled back, eventually tying the game at 28. But the Lady Raiders defense stopped their momentum, and the game tightened as time ran out in the third period with Sidney leading 32-29. It was Sidney junior Janay Brauer's hustle that was the most potent weapon in Sidney's arsenal on this day.

Janay Brauer led Sidney with 11 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double on the night.

As time expired, it was Sidney on top with a 44-35 victory, and a well-earned trip to the State Tournament for the Lady Raiders.