Lady Raiders Get #21 Against Holdrege

Sidney's Lady Raider Girls Basketball team picked up win numbers 20 and 21 on Friday and Saturday, putting away rival Chadron on Friday and then beating Holdrege to go 21-and-1 on the season. They have one more chance on Tuesday against Alliance to tie the 2018-19 teams' mark of 22 wins, the best under Head Coach Tyler Shaw's tenure.

The Lady Raiders again relied on their tough defense and fast-break scoring coupled with their strong passing and smart shot selection to best both Chadron and Holdrege. On Friday's game against Chadron, which was played in the Sidney Middle School gym as part of "Throwback Night", the loud crowd got behind the girls early on, and a tight contest eventually turned into a walk away for Sidney.

With the teams trading points and battling hard in the first period, senior Rheagan Stanley hit a three pointer followed by sophomore Kayla Westby's two free throws to take a five point 15-to-10 lead at the end of the first period. Sidney ramped up the defense in the second period, playing pressure defense to cause turnovers and keep the Lady Cardinals from scoring. Chadron's defense also played well, and at the end of the half, the

Lady Cardinals burned about a minute of time before getting off a final shot that narrowed the Sidney lead to just 25-to-21. Chadron and Sidney battled back and forth through the rest of the game, but Sidney cashed in on seven of twelve free throws down the stretch to keep Chadron at

bay, and came away with a 42-to-34 win. Westby led the scoring for Sidney with 10 points.

On Saturday, the lady Raiders were back at the Sidney High School gym, and faced off against the Lady Dusters of Holdrege. Again the Lady Raiders used their pressure defense to get out to a hot start, taking a 13-to-6 lead at the end of the first period. The Sidney offense had trouble against the Lady Duster's defense, but it did not seem to matter as the Lady Raider defense smothered the Holdrege attack, giving Sidney a 22-to-11 halftime lead. Sidney did a better job scoring in the second and third periods while their defense continued to shut down Holdrege, and they cruised to a 50-to-27 victory. Senior Reese Riddle led the scoring for Sidney with 14 points and junior Karsyn Leeling hit three shots from beyond the arc to tally nine points in the win.

Sidney's final game of the regular season was scheduled for Tuesday against Alliance in Sidney.