Lady Raiders defeats followed by dominant win

The Lady Raiders showed no mercy Saturday to Soap Lake, winning by 27 points following two losses of their own against Brewster and Liberty Bell last week.

Following a 60-44 loss to the Lady Bears last Tuesday, the Lady Raiders lost to the Lady Mountain Lions by only three points on Thursday, with a final score of 54-51.

But the LR girls took it to Soap Lake's Lady Eagles, winning 62-35 to go 2-2 for the season.

On Dec. 6, the girls stayed in the game the entire time, narrowing the Brewster Lady Bears' lead by as little as five points, but things slipped away in the fourth quarter as Brewster took away a 60-44 victory.

In Liberty Bell on Thursday against the Lady Mountain Lions, the Lady Raiders held the lead the entire first half but lost it in the second.

"We got caught by a press that we weren't expecting," Head Coach Wallace Pleasants said. "It was one of those games where we didn't do the little things down the stretch, and it came back to get us in the second half."

The Lady Mountain Lions made 13 of 18 free-throw attempts, which came back to haunt the Raiders at the end of the game with a narrow loss, 54-51.

The Lady Raiders fared better hosting the Soap Lake Lady Eagles on Saturday, winning 62-35.

"When it was their time to hit the floor they went out there competing," said Pleasants. "When your number's called, you've just got to be ready to play."

Pleasants attributed the win to focusing on the little things: "Rebounding, closing out, staying on your opponent ... all those little things it takes to be a successful team.... That starts in practice. Competing every day in practice leads into the game."

The Lady Raiders played the Lady Trojans in Manson last night; results will be in next week's Star.

The girls' next game is Thursday, Dec. 15, hosting the Tonasket Tigers in the LR gym in Coulee Dam. The varsity girls are scheduled to start at 6 p.m. The Lady Raiders then trek to Okanogan on Saturday for a non-league game against the Bulldogs.

Raiders-Mountain Lions, Box

Raiders 51, Mountain Lions 54

Lake Roosevelt Points

St. Pierre 19, Boyd 11, Olbricht 6, Priest 6, Dick 5, Hansen 2, Pakootas 2

Eagles-Raiders, Box

Eagles 35, Raiders 62

Lake Roosevelt Points

Boyd 15, Olbricht 14, St. Pierre 13, Priest 6, Reyes 4, Wapato 3, Dick 3, Pakootas 2