Lady Raiders fall to Entiat, Pateros

The Lady Raiders had a tough week, losing to Entiat at Entiat on Dec. 16, then losing at home to the Pateros Nannies on Dec. 20.

The two losses drop the Lady Raiders’ win-loss record to 0-5 overall. Head Coach Wallace Pleasants says that the girls have to overcome these setbacks and, “It’s all about learning how to win.”

Against Entiat the Lady Raiders faced a well coached quality team with a height advantage under the basket. Even with the disadvantage of height, the Lady Raiders played a tighter game than the 60-45 final score would suggest.

Pleasants said the Ladies executed the offense well and passed the ball to the open person for the shot. They had problems in rebounding against the superior height of the Tigers. Entiat scored many points late in the game on free throws as the Lady Raiders were fouling to try and get the ball back.

At home on Friday against the Nannies, the game was delayed by 30 minutes as Pateros did not show up until 5:55 for the 6 p.m. contest.

The first quarter saw a back-and-forth game as both teams exchanged baskets. The score at the end of the first was LR 13, Pateros 11.

In the second, Pateros began to play better and physical. This disrupted the Lady Raiders whose scoring began to tail off. The Nannies took the lead and would not give it up for the rest of the game. The score at half was Pateros 27, LR 22.

The Nannies continued this momentum in the third, building their lead to 13 points. Fouls became a big issue as the Lady Raiders sent the Nannies to the line to shoot. In the fourth the Nannies continued to score but held the Lady Raiders at bay until the final Pateros win, 57-39.

Lachelle Bearcub led LR in scoring with 13 points. Keya FastHorse scored 10 points for the night. Riley Epperson contributed eight.

The JV game between LR and Pateros was cancelled as the late start in the girls’ game meant the teams were not at the middle school on time and no one apparently communicated this to the officials, who left the middle school gym before either side showed up.

Coach Pleasants said Pateros had played a good, physical game.

“We need to learn how to play in that situation,” he said, “because tonight we had to change what we did on offense and defense because of the Nannies’ physical play.”

Pleasants was upset with the way the Lady Raiders played defense and how they were not covering their assignments.

Looking to the Tonasket Holiday Tournament this week Coach Pleasants said, “We are heading back to the drawing board to see what we can do to be better.”

The Lady Raiders will be joined by Tonasket and Liberty Bell at the tourney. They almost beat the Tigers Dec. 13 and will look to improve and defeat Tonasket in the rematch. Games start at noon Dec. 27 and 2 p.m. on Dec. 28 at Tonasket High School.