The Three Rivers women's basketball team overcome a cold-shooting third quarter Saturday night. DeNayia Holmes' driving layup with 8.7 seconds left lifted the Lady Raiders to a 58-57 Region XVI win over State Fair at the Bess Activity Center. The Lady Raiders led by as many as 14 points in the first half but scored only four points in the third quarter, and State Fair took advantage. "We have the ability to get shots in locations we want," Three Rivers coach Jeff Walk said. "We got those shots tonight, but we missed I don't know how many point-black shots." The Roadrunners slowly ate away at their deficit to tie the score at 50-all on a second-chance basket by Ren'Cia Rolling with less than four minutes remaining. Grace Morrow scored from the under the basket, giving State Fair its first lead of the game, 54-52 near the one minute mark.
Alex Kohler sank two free throws with 38.4 seconds left to tie the score, and the Lady Raiders went ahead on two free throws by Lakeita Chappel with 14.4 seconds left. Catie Kaifes, who scored 11 points, nailed a 3-pointer two seconds later for a 57-56 State Fair lead but Holmes, who finished with a team-high 15 points, answered. State Fair's Monique Esbrand's mid-range jumper at the buzzer was off target, and the Lady Raiders held on to improve to 16-9 overall and 3-4 in Region XVI. State Fair fell to 11-12 and 2-4. Three Rivers, which led 34-21 at halftime, didn't score its first point in the third quarter until Chappel, who totaled 11 points, made a free throw with 2:17 left, giving the Raiders a 35-29 lead. The Raiders didn't make their first field goal of the second half until Hailee Erickson's jumper put them ahead 37-30. Kaifes' 3-pointer with five seconds left trimmed Three Rivers' lead to 37-33 entering the final quarter. Maya Brewer, who tallied a game-high 18 points, scored the half's first eight points, and State Fair shaved the Raiders' lead to 34-29. Three Rivers shot 24 percent (7 for 29) in the second half, while the Roadrunners went 12 of 26 (46 percent) from the field after halftime, including 5 of 11 from behind the arc. The Roadrunners struggled offensively in the first half, making only 21 percent (6 of 29) of their shots that included an 0-for-11 performance from behind the arc. Three Rivers held the Roadrunners scoreless for four minutes in the first quarter to take a 15-2 lead. During that stretch, the Lady Raiders capitalized on three State Fair turnovers. The Roadrunners committed 10 first-half turnovers with Three Rivers turning those into nine points. Chappel and Kohler each made 3-pointers, and DeNayia Holmes capped a 12-0 run with a steal and a layup. Brionna Hill snapped the Roadrunners' run with two free throws, and Brewer scored on a driving layup and a putback to cut Three Rivers' lead to 20-8 by the start of the second quarter. State Fair climbed within seven points of the lead three times in the second before the Raiders scored seven straight to take a 34- 20 lead. Dejah Malveaux sank a 3-pointer, Holmes made two free throws and Chappel capped a fast break fueled by a defensive rebound to give the Raiders a 14-point lead. Jazmyn Elston made a free throw with 36.1 seconds left to set the halftime score at 34-21.
Kyle Smith - Daily American Republic