Schooled at tourney, improved Ladies win two

The Lady Raiders chalked up two more in the win column this past week, defeating both the Bridgeport Fillies as well as the Waterville Lady Shockers.

The Lady Raiders beat the Fillies by 50 points in Coulee Dam Jan. 2, with a final score of 73-23.

Head Coach Wallace Pleasants said their performance was in part due to improvements made over winter break competing against bigger schools in the Eagle Holiday Classic in Spokane.

"The thing we learned in Spokane was as long as you move your feet, and you're working hard on defense, and you don't reach, the referees are going to let you play," Pleasants said. "So the girls decided that's the style of ball they want to play, and tonight that showed up a little bit."

The Lady Raiders had 17 steals against the Fillies, above their average of eight steals per game.

High scorers for the game were Kayla St. Pierre, with 23 points, and Kelsie Olbricht, with 18.

In Waterville Thursday the Lady Raiders defeated the Lady Shockers 35-26.

"It was a good defensive, competitive game, the kind you'd expect from Waterville," Pleasants said. "We wanted to go in and make sure we did the right things: stay disciplined, stay focused, and walk away with the win."

Pleasants said the game demonstrated "a true team effort," from the Lady Raiders. "It was a tie game, and then there was a momentum change," Pleasants said. "Khani Priest stepped in and took charge and from then on the game turned in our favor. We started playing a lot better on the defensive end and a lot more crisp on our offensive stuff."

"Kayla [St. Pierre] did a nice job of making sure we were in the right sets on the defensive end, making sure everybody was in the right position," Pleasants continued.

Kelsie Olbricht led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 12 points, in addition to the 15 rebounds she got for her team.

"Shantana Pakootas, she did a lot for us," Pleasants continued. "You name it, everybody that got in and played did their part. They stepped up and did the little things it takes to win."

LR has a 5-3 conference record and a 5-5 overall record, behind Brewster (8-0), Tonasket (6-2), and Liberty Bell (6-2), and tied with Waterville (5-3).

Pleasants said focus is key to finishing the season strong. "The focus will lead into the discipline that we need to be a good team," he said. "We're working our butts off to get where we need to be."

The Lady Raiders played in Oroville last night, results of which will be in next week's Star.

The next home game will be against the top-ranked Brewster Lady Bears at 6 p.m. on Jan. 11.