Sidney Girls Ready for State

Sidney's Lady Raiders are in their final days of practice before they head out for the NSAA Girl's Basketball State Championships in Lincoln.

Sidney is the number one seed in the Class B bracket, and faces the number eight Elkhorn South Lady Storm in the first round on Thursday with a 9 am game time.

The Elkhorn South squad enters the tournament with a 12-and-13 record, facing a Lady Raider team that has gone 22-and-3 on the year and is ranked 21 overall in the state. The Lady Raiders have a veteran squad, many with State Tournament experience, and are led by a core of seniors ready to get past the first round in this year's tournament.

Sidney head coach Tyler Shaw said, "We're hoping our experience will help us be comfortable with the surroundings.  It's always a little nerve wracking playing at the state tournament, but we are hoping that our experience will help the moment not seem too big."

It's hard to judge a team in another district based on wins and losses, and the Lady Raiders know not to put much weight into Elkhorn South's 12-and-13 record. The Lady Storm have height and athletic players, and play a defensive scheme that makes it tough for opponents to score on the inside.

Shaw was able to familiarize himself with the Elkhorn South team, saying, "Elkhorn South has some of the best athletes in Class B.  They have great size and a really good point guard.  They tend to run more zone than man, so we will need to hit shots from the perimeter."

Teams preparing for Sidney know that to stop the Lady Raiders, you have to stop the senior tandem of Janay Brauer and Meaghan Ross. Sidney is ready for that tactic, and has options prepared to keep the Lady Storm off-balance and unable to key on the seniors.

Shaw said, "We try to run some different things for Meaghan and Janay when teams try to take them away. Also, it is important that the others step up and look for opportunities to score."

For the Lady Raiders to advance deep into the tournament, they will need solid shooting performances from Brauer and Ross, while junior Mattie Johnson and senior Katelyn Sylvester need to come up big under the boards. Junior guard Nicole Birner needs to attack the defense by driving the lanes and forcing Elkhorn South to foul, and Sidney needs big contributions from the bench, especially from sophomore Karly Sylvester and junior MJ Johnstone, to be the difference in the game.