The Three Rivers College women's basketball team had little trouble improving to 3-1 this weekend as the Lady Raiders rolled to a pair of big wins at the Lady Raider Classic at the Libla Family Sports Complex.
The Lady Raiders downed Northeastern Oklahoma A&M 72-46 on Friday, then rolled past John A. Logan 99-47 on Saturday afternoon.
"I thought the girls played well this weekend," Three Rivers coach Alex Wiggs said. "You can see that we're getting better on the offensive end, which is a big, big thing for us. Even though we've got 12 returners, guess what? We're trying to replace an all-American and we're trying to figure out that ball movement, the flow, the stuff like that, is what we're trying to figure out. And we've just got to stay confident in our shots."
Three Rivers led NEO by just three points (15-12) at the end of the opening period, but dominated the second quarter to lead 34-20 at the intermission. The Lady Raiders outscored NEO 38-26 in the second half to win going away.
Lexi Weaver followed up her Region XVI Player of the Week performance opening weekend by scoring 19 points to pace the Lady Raiders, while Kaleigh "KT" Thompson added 11, Kamille Brown had nine and Samari Taylor finished with eight. Brown and Thompon each had four steals apiece, while Thompson blocked a pair of shots and Taylor collected six rebounds.
After starting slowly Friday, the Lady Raiders started fast Saturday and never let up, leading 22-8 after the opening period and 51-20 at the intermission.
Three Rivers dished off 23 assists — a number Wiggs was very pleased with — and had 19 steals while committing just 14 turnovers and also had six players score in double figures
"It's all about this team — six people in double figures," Wiggs said. … "Whenever you can have just that balance of the scoring, it makes (us) a hard monster to stop."
Thompson led a balanced Three Rivers attack with 17 points, while Yannie Flemings added 15, Sydnei Marshall had 12, Laylah Reese contributed 11 and the duo of Weaver and Bramyia Johnson each finished with 10.
Brown dished off five assists and had three steals, while Reese collected eight rebounds and Fleming had six. Jasmine Davis had a team-high-four steals, while Weacer added three and the duo of Thompson and Courtney Bluitt each had two. Marshall also blocked a pair of shots.
The Lady Raiders are back on the court Tuesday when they take their first road trip to Robinson, Illinois to take on Lincoln Trail. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.
"We've got to get prepared," Wiggs said. "Whenever you have two games back-to-back, your thoughts are the games right in front of you. … Not only is (Lincoln Trail) a long drive, but it's going to be a battle — and it's going to be our first road test of the year."
One bit of good news for Three Rivers is the Lady Raiders are slated to get Brittani Wells back in the lineup next week after being sideline for nearly a year with a knee injury.
"Brittani Wells has been warming up with us and she will be back the the 18th," Wiggs said. "We're getting her used to the pregame stuff and getting her back in the flow of the mental side of of the pregame stuff. She's got one more game that she's out, and then Raider Nation gets to see Brittani Wells back in action."
Mike Buhler - Daily American Republic