The Lady Raiders have swept the first half of their Region XVI schedule. Three Rivers College defeated Crowder College 73-68 Saturday at the Bess Activity Center to start 4-0 in the region and extend its winning streak to 16 games. Three different times the Lady Raiders (18-2, 4-0 Region XVI) built a double-digit lead, only to have Crowder (4-17, 1-1 Region XVI) erase it. The final time it happened, the Lady Raiders were down a point with a minute left to play. Three Rivers coach Jeff Walk called a timeout and, to his team's confusion, started drawing up the defense even though his team had the ball and were trailing. "I've been around too many old coaches that just let that play out and they don't draw up anything. We teach them enough during workouts to where they can go make plays," Walk said. Point guard DeNayia Holmes went back onto the court thinking Three Rivers was on defense.

"We came out the huddle and I was like, 'So ... we on defense?'" said Holmes, who had to be corrected by Michael Everhart. "I thought we were going to get the stop, and then score and get a stop. "It's like he already knew we were going to score." With the shot clock at 10, the Lady Raiders got the ball to Holmes, who drove and sank an off-balance layup. It was the Lady Raiders' first field goal in more than 6 minutes. "If I got fouled, I knew we were going to be in the bonus. I just took it when I saw the opening and I wound up hitting the shot," said Holmes, who led Three Rivers with 16 points and four assists after going 7 for 10 on free throws. Three Rivers pressed, like Walk drew up in the timeout, and Ge'Naisha Robinson drew an offensive foul. The Lady Raiders worked the ball and Michael Everhart swished a corner 3 with 26 seconds left to put Three Rivers ahead by four. Crowder tried for a quick 3, missed, and Holmes ran the rebound halfway down the court before she was fouled. In the bonus, she made both to make the lead six. Nicole Ickes hit a quick 3 for Crowder and Three Rivers took a timeout with 8 seconds left. After a quick foul, Everhart made both free throws and time ran out as the Lady Riders tried for a quick layup. "I freaked out at Moberly and the girls didn't. The girls kind of freaked out in this one and I didn't. So we had a bit of a role reversal," said Walk, referring to the Lady Raiders' 5-point road win last weekend against the Lady Greyhounds. "I think they relied back on their experience from previous games, because we've been in this situation a bunch down the stretch."

Three Rivers has now played in nine games this season decided by five points or less, including three consecutive region games, and are 7-2 in those contests. Both losses were by three points against Wabash Valley. Crowder had eight more bench points than the Lady Raiders without anybody off the bench scoring in double figures. It was the fourth time this season that Three Rivers did not lead in bench scoring. Robinson had 11 points for the Lady Raiders. Joya Smith and Camdyn McDaniel both got 10. Smith also had four blocks and seven rebounds. Three Rivers twice looked like it was going to break the game open in the first half only to have Crowder answer.

The Lady Raiders opened the game with an 11-2 run in the first 3 minutes. Robinson had a pair of layups off turnovers and Smith closed out the run with an easy bucket off an assist by Holmes. Crowder, after a timeout, used the next 3 minutes to get back within a point. Three Rivers, which didn't trail in the first half, again pulled away in the opening minutes of the second quarter. After a 3, Robinson got another two layups off turnovers and, like the first quarter, Smith followed with a bucket for a 9-0 run in the first 3 minutes of the second. The Lady Raiders took their first double-digit lead when Markeia Porter dribbled behind her back and sank a step-back jumper with 4 minutes left in the half. Once again, the Lady Riders were the stronger team in the closing minutes. Alissa Rowden and Kadesha Cooper sank 3s as Crowder drew within a point with a minute to go. Crowder was down 11 entering the final quarter and cut the lead to five points with 4 minutes remaining. Brooke Sagely cut it to three when she putback a layup that hit the backboard, missed all of the rim and landed in her hands as if it were a pass. Three Rivers turned it over and Ickes sank a 15-footer to make it a onepoint game, and then the Lady Raiders turned it over again. Morgan Crawford picked off a pass and finished the layup to put Crowder back in front with a little more than a minute to play