Lady Raiders end season 10-9 overall

The Lady Raiders finished the regular season with a Valentine’s Day win over the Fillies of Bridgeport following a loss in Oroville Feb. 11.

Lake Roosevelt finished with a 10-9 overall win-loss record, 8-3 in league.

Against Oroville the Lady Raiders got off to a bad start, falling behind by as much as 22 points.

“We could not buy a basket in the first half,” Head Coach Wallace Pleasants said. “It took us two and a half quarters to gain our composure and come back into the game.”

The 44-34 loss kept the Lady Raiders from being the number-one seed from the North in the district tournament.

Lachelle Bearcub picked up another double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Riley Epperson was the team’s number-two scorer at Oroville with 10 points.

The Lady Raiders did not hang their heads long, as they defeated the Fillies 39-34 on a Valentine’s Day Senior Night.

Keya FastHorse could not play, but was honored in front of a large crowd at Gailord Nelson Gym. FastHorse was the only senior on either the girls’ or boys’ squads for LR.

Bridgeport came out fast, scoring the first baskets of the game.

Bearcub led the Ladies back into the game, scoring 12 of the Lady Raiders’ 19 first-quarter points. In the second quarter, both offenses slowed, with LR scoring only six points, all of them Bearcub’s. The defense stiffened and allowed Bridgeport only four for the quarter and ending the first half with an LR lead, 25-14.

Bearcub scored 18 of LR’s first-half points.

In the third quarter both offenses came alive again with the Fillies outscoring the Lady Raiders 11-10. LR held on to the lead for a 10-point margin at the end of the third, 35-25. But in the fourth, several mishaps on defense and cold streaks on offense allowed Bridgeport to make a comeback. Lake Roosevelt also got into foul trouble.

The Fillies had narrowed it to a one-point contest when the Lady Raiders made two key shots and pulled the game out of the fire. The final was LR 39, Bridgeport 34.

“We are still working on playing a complete game,” Pleasants commented, adding that he hopes to “be able to maintain the lead all the way to the end.”

He said he was proud of the girls’ fourth-quarter play as they “got composure and finished the game.”

Tonight (Wednesday, Feb. 19) the Lady Raiders will play at Wenatchee High School against the winner of last night’s Bridgeport/Kittitas game. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m.

“We got to play smart for the whole game to have a shot at winning,” Pleasants said.

The Lady Raiders must win that game to move on Saturday against the loser of the District 5-6 Championship to have a shot at moving on to the regional tournament. The game on Saturday against either Oroville or White Swan would tip off at 1 p.m. at Wenatchee High School.

Lake Roosevelt

R. Epperson 7, A. Epperson 7, Bearcub 22 points and 14 rebounds, Ensminger 1, Semmens 2, Picard 0, Adolph 0, Dick 0, Wilson 0.

Bridgeport

Santana 4, V. Martinez 2, Baldinos 0, Varrelman 0, Velasquez 8, Perea 2, Trejo 2, Rios 4, S. Martinez 10, Herrejon 2.

At Oroville

R. Epperson 10, A. Epperson 0, Picard 0, Wilson 6, Bearcub 16, Ensminger 2, Semmens 0, Matheson 0