Sidney's Lady Raiders Split Weekend Contests

Sidney's Lady Raider Basketball team came back from their holiday break hosting the Gering Lady Bulldogs, and it took a bit of time before the home squad warmed up and finally put away the visitors.

After the slow start, the Lady Raiders were able to build a solid lead at the half, but a sluggish third quarter and a fired up Gering offense enable the visitors to come back, and Sidney went into the final frame only up by one at 34-to-33. The Lady Raiders only scored seven points in the quarter while Gering was hot from the field, using two three point hits to close the gap.

But again the Lady Raiders turned it on in the fourth quarter, extending their lead early then smothering the Gering offense. The Lady Bulldogs were only able to manage two points in the period. Sidney was able to pull away in the last few minutes, helped by a technical foul called on the Gering bench, opening a seven point lead. The Gering squad was forced into long shots and fouling the Sidney players to claw back, but solid shooting at the line by Alecca Campbell, Reese Riddle and Emilee Wieser opened a 10 point lead. Riddle sank two more free throws in the closing seconds to end the game with a Sidney win, 47-to-35. Sidney again showed their ability to turn on the defense in the fourth quarter and hit their free throws down the stretch, a big reason for their success so far this season. Senior Emilee Wieser led the scoring for Sidney with 14 points in the victory.

Sidney traveled to Kearney on Saturday to participate in the Nebraska Basketball Challenge, and matched up against Oakland-Craig. Again the Lady Raiders seemed sluggish at the start of the game, but were able to keep up against the Lady Knights and stay close. Down 29-21 at the half, Sidney needed a big third quarter to close the gap, but were beaten badly on the boards and just couldn't get their shots to fall. Oakland-Craig opened a 14 point lead at the end of the third on a tip-in rebound the Lady Raiders could not grab, and went into the fourth quarter up 44-to-30.

The Lady Knights used their advantage under the boards and great ball movement on offense to keep the Lady Raiders at bay while adding points. The Lady Raiders could not generate enough offense in the fourth quarter to overcome the deficit, and fell by a final score of 55-to-42, their first loss since December 4. Junior Rheagan Stanley led the scoring for Sidney with 10 points in the loss. Sidney was scheduled to host Mitchell on Tuesday.