POPLAR BLUFF – No. 1 Three Rivers took care of business on Monday maintaining their perfect record and securing the top spot in the nation with a 114-32 win over St. Louis at the Libla Family Sports Complex.
"We have 12 girls on this team that can really play," Three Rivers coach Alex Wiggs said. "Unlike some other teams in a game like this where this is a chance for players who don't play that often to get some playing time, we're pretty well rounded one through 12 in the lineup."
Prior to tipoff, the Raiders learned that they are the top team in the nation after previous No. 1 and defending champion, Northwest Florida State, suffering its first loss of the season Saturday.
"I'm really proud of the girls because they've earned their way to be the top team in the nation," Wiggs said. "This definitely gives Three Rivers national attention, but we need to keep it going, we can't be taking any days off."
Three Rivers has won 49 straight games in the regular season after a 24-1 record last year, the lone loss to Northwest Florida State in the national semifinal.
The Raiders (18-0, 7-0 XVI) had seven players record double figures in the offensive explosion led by Myia Yelder's 23-point game while Joi Montgomery and Jenna McMillan had 16 respectively and Autumn Dodd, Ari Winston and Kourtney Kendrick recorded 10 points apiece.
Three Rivers made 29 shot attempts from the field, 16 of them from 3-point range and went 72% from the charity stripe while the team scored triple digits for the fifth time this season.
For the Archers (3-7), Courtney Lumpkins recorded the majority of their offense with 21 points to her credit.
Three Rivers started the game off with a 12-0 run in the first four minutes of play and ended the first quarter up 28-9.
In the first 4:45 of the second, the Lady Raiders went on a 17-3 run to give themselves a comfortable 45-11 advantage and went into the locker room with a 56-19 lead.
The Raiders extended their lead in the third with a 15-4 run to go up 71-23 at the five minute mark and went into the final 10 minutes with an 81-28 lead.
Three Rivers will be back in action on Wednesday as they'll host Jefferson County at 5 p.m. ahead of the men taking on Tennessee Prep. The Lady Raiders previously faced Jefferson County back on Dec. 5 in the Region XVI Showdown at Moberly Area where Three Rivers came out on top 84-55.
"I know Jeff Co. has a girl out with an injury," Wiggs said. "We'll be going over the film and what the scout has seen from them (Tuesday) and get ready to play on Wednesday."
Robert Augsdorfer - Daily American Republic