Lady Raiders earn road wins in the Twin Cities

The Sidney Lady Raiders improved to 16-4 on the season with a pair of impressive road wins over the weekend. Sidney used a big second half to knock off Gering 53-35 on Friday night, then returned to the Twin Cities on Saturday afternoon and handed Class B #5 Scottsbluff a 60-49 loss. With the two wins, the Lady Raiders have all but officially wrapped up the top seed in next week’s B-8 Sub-District.

Friday’s game at Gering was a worrisome one for the Lady Raiders. Although Sidney had defeated the 6-14 Bulldogs 67-49 early in January, a top-ten matchup with Scottsbluff was awaiting Sidney on Saturday afternoon. If the Lady Raiders looked past the Gering, it could turn into a disappointing night.

Sidney’s concerns almost turned into reality as the Bulldogs used full-court pressure to hang with the Lady Raiders in the first half. Gering’s leading scorer, junior Cloey Fries (13.9 ppg.), pumped in 6 points to keep the Bulldogs within one, 10-9, after the first quarter. Sophomore Brynna Ross nailed a pair of three-pointers early in the second period that helped propel Sidney to 26-23 halftime lead.

The second half belonged to the Lady Raiders. Sidney came out to start the second half with a little back-court pressure of their own, which forced 12 second-half Gering turnovers. Sidney outscored the Bulldogs 14-4 in the third and 13-8 in the fourth to escape with the 53-35 win.

Mattie Johnson led all scorers with 17 points while Nicole Birner added 11 for the Lady Raiders. Gering’s Cloey Fries finished the game with 9 points to lead the Bulldogs.

Saturday’s much anticipated matchup between the 5^th ranked Scottsbluff Bearcats and the 6^th ranked Sidney Lady Raiders almost didn’t live up to the hype. Sidney senior Nicole Birner combined a pair of three-pointers with several drives to the hoop to score 12 first quarter points to lead Sidney to a 24-11 lead after one period. Junior Karly Sylvester then took over the paint, scoring 7 second quarter points as Sidney built a 20 point lead. The Bearcats countered with a scrappy press to trim the Lady Raider lead to 37-22 at halftime.

Scottsbluff continued their defensive onslaught after intermission, forcing 12 second-half Sidney turnovers. But for every Bearcat run in the third quarter, Sidney found an answer, building the lead back to 20 midway through the period. Scottsbluff cut the Sidney lead to 51-39 at the end of the quarter.

The Bearcats unrelenting pressure cut the Sidney lead to just 9 points early in the fourth period. However, Scottsbluff’s defensive intensity came at a price, as the Bearcats started to accumulate fouls, causing three Bearcat starters to foul out of the game. Sidney made only 5 of 20 free-throws in the final period to keep Scottsbluff’s hopes alive.

Sidney had three players in double figures led by the 17 points of Karly Sylvester. Mattie Johnson chipped in 16 points while Nicole Birner finished with 14. The Bearcats were led by Yara Garcia’s 17 points.

The Sidney Lady Raiders will travel to Alliance on Tuesday for a Western Conference matchup with the Bulldogs before heading to Chadron for a date with the 18-2 Cardinals.