Lady Raiders Face Big Challenge With Northwest

Sidney's Lady Raider Basketball team defeated the Blair Lady Bears last week in their District Final to earn a trip to the State Tournament, and drew a tough first-round opponent in the Northwest Lady Vikings out of Grand Island.

Sidney boasts a solid 19-and-6 record, but has stumbled a few times during the course of the season, losing games they should have won, and sometimes struggled with their outside shooting. The Lady Vikings come in with a similar 21-and-5 record, with three losses against class B powerhouse Crete, and losses against York and Hastings.

The Lady Raiders will need to come out in sync and with a hot shooting touch if they're to get past the Lady Vikings, a team ranked 12th in Nebraska versus Sidney 31st ranking. Led by Husker recruit Whitney Brown averaging 18 points a game, the Sidney squad needs to play a strong defensive game and limit the Northwest offensive opportunities.

Sidney Head Coach Tyler Shaw talked about the team's fourth straight trip to the State Tournament, saying, " Grand Island Northwest is a really solid team.  They are the returning state champions so we have a tall task ahead of us, but we are excited for the challenge.  Slowing down their best player Whitney Brown will be a major key to us advancing and playing on Friday."

Sidney has done a good job this year isolating opponents strongest players and limiting their offensive output, but Northwest also has a talented group of players to compliment Brown if the Lady Raiders are successful in defending the Husker recruit.

Sidney's defense is strong under the boards with junior Karly Sylvester and seniors Mattie Johnson and Kendra Nesbitt always making scoring inside a challenge, but have often shown to be vulnerable against a team that has multiple skilled outside shooters like Northwest.

"They have other players besides Brown that can really shoot the ball from the outside.  It'll be important for us to contest the shots from the arc and make sure we rebound well, " said Shaw.

Sidney will need a strong defensive game and must be aggressive under the boards if they are to advance against Northwest. If the Lady Raiders can come out and play with an intensity level similar to the Blair game in the District Final, they will have a good chance of pulling out a win in a low-scoring battle.

The Lady Raiders are looking to finally get past the first round and advance to Friday's action, and will need their top effort to get the job done.