Lady Raiders go two for three

The Lady Raiders won two of three games last week, extending their win streak to eight games.

They took on the 12-4 Tigers at Entiat Jan. 29, whom the Lady Raiders had beaten by only two points in the previous meeting in December. This time LR built an 18-point lead going into halftime.

The big lead let Coach Wallace Pleasants give playing time to bench players and slowed down the game play to give them experience for districts and regionals.

“I stayed in it too long and Entiat got back into the game,” Pleasants confessed. “We had to switch back to what we started out with. … They are a good team and are one you can’t let up on as they have the ability to beat you.”

The Tigers came back to tie it at 44 and put the game into overtime, when the Lady Raider starters went on a 14-4 run to win it 58-53.

The Tiger scare was taken to heart by the Lady Raiders, who manhandled the winless Mountain Lions 66-19 Jan. 31.

On Groundhog Day the Lady Raiders played host to their biggest challenger since Brewster, the Riverside Christian Crusaders who were ranked seventh for the 2B girls in a recent AP poll.

“They are tall and long, they have a big strong forward and can run,” Pleasants summarized.

The Lady Raiders were out of sync with passes going awry or not seeing the open person and the middle of the zone defense being soft that allowed Riverside Christian many easy baskets. And Danielle Laramie went out with a knee strain in the first quarter.

The Crusaders built a 16-point lead by halftime, 31-15.

“We can’t have 13 turnovers in the first half and expect to be successful,” Pleasants said.

In the second half, the mistakes led to more points, and LR could not get shots to fall. The Crusaders extended their lead to 24 points at the end of the third quarter, 53-29.

In the fourth, the Lady Raiders attempted a spirited comeback, but too late to change the course of the game. The Crusaders cruised to a 63-42 win.

Katelynn Schilling recorded her second double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.

Atop the league, the Lady Raiders are in the home stretch as the look to wrap up the Central Washington 2B North with games last night against second-place Oroville and tomorrow at Bridgeport. The Fillies are trying to make it to district and hope to knock off the Lady Raiders tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Bridgeport High School.

RIVERSIDE CHRISTIAN -- Herrera 0, Kissel 3, Lexi Carpenter 21, Byrne 6, Jessi Carpenter 22, Middlebrooks 2, Fulton.

LAKE ROOSEVELT -- Epperson 0, Sam 6, Chaney 7, Fasthorse 8, McCraigie 5, Laramie 3, Stanczak 0, Schilling 13.