PARK HILLS, Mo. — The Three Rivers women's basketball team continued their perfect start to the season with a 91-82 win over Mineral Area in the Region XVI Showdown on Saturday.
The fourth-ranked Raiders improve 9-0 overall and 2-0 against region opponents.
"I thought we played really well overall," head coach Alex Wiggs said. "At the beginning and the end of the game, we were giving up too many uncontested shots. But I thought we locked it down defensively in the second and third quarters and at the same time our shots started falling offensively."
The Raiders had four players in double figures with Myia Yelder leading the team with 19 points followed closely by Autumn Dodd recording 18 points.
"In big games like this one, Myia and Autumn did what third-year players should do," Wiggs said. "They made open shots and they were being aggressive. It really helped us as a group to have third-year kids that have been in those situations before and can lock in like that."
Joi Montgomery and Kourtney Kendrick combined for 25 points with 15 and 10 respectively.
Three Rivers had a strong start with an 11-2 run in the opening two minutes of play, but the tides turned for Mineral Area (6-2, 1-1 XVI) at the end of the first quarter as the Cardinals led 20-16.
The Raiders clawed their way back in the second and Yelder gave them back the lead with a layup and got fouled in the process. She converted the old fashioned three-point play and Three Rivers had a 30-27 advantage with eight minutes until halftime.
"It just shows how good this team is and how we can start scoring so quickly," Wiggs said. "Our defense helped our offense get better. Couldn't be prouder of the girls."
From there, the Raiders hit just about every shot they took from beyond the arc to take a 55-39 lead at halftime.
Three Rivers didn't let off the gas at the start of the second half as they held onto a 20-point lead going into the fourth with the score 74-54 and they were able to salt it away in the fourth for the win.
Coming off of back-to-back games, the Raiders will be off until Tuesday when they travel to Dyersberg State (Tenn.) for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff before taking a few days off for Thanksgiving.
Robert Augsdorfer - Daily American Republic