Sidney Basketball Teams Advance to Conference Tournament Finals

SCOTTSBLUFF – Both Sidney basketball teams advance to the Western Conference Tournament championship games with convincing wins at Western Nebraska Community College on Friday. The Lady Raiders earned their spot with a 61-28 win over North Platte, while the Red Raiders avenged an earlier loss to Alliance with a resounding 69-33 win.
The Lady Raiders forced 21 first half turnovers, holding North Platte to only seven field goal attempts, on the way to taking a 34-12 lead into intermission. Sidney’s harassing defense generated a season-high 35 turnovers, grabbed a season high 20 offensive rebounds which turned into 21 second chance points.
Sidney was led by Carli Black’s 14 points while Ashlyn Weinbender hit three of six from long range to finish with 11 points. With the win, the Lady Raiders advanced to the tournament final against Gering. The Bulldogs defeated rival Scottsbluff 49-39 to advance. Tipoff is schedule for 2:00 p.m. at WNCC’s Cougar Palace.
The Red Raiders left little doubt in avenging an early January road-loss at Alliance by jumping all over the Bulldogs 20-5 at the end of the first quarter. Sidney dominated in every facet of the game, outscoring Alliance in every period, while owning the boards, out-rebounding the Bulldogs 43-24.
Sidney finished with three players in double figures, led by Keian Kaiser’s 24 points. Landon Riddle added 11 points while Kash Knobbe came off the bench to chip in 10 points. The Red Raiders will square off against Scottsbluff, who cruised past Gering 73-39, at 3:30 p.m. at WNCC.
Listen to both championship games live on 1340 AM / 95.7 FM, Cheyenne County Country or online at newschannelnebraska.com and the free NCN app.