The Three Rivers College women's basketball team made the most of its second chance to beat a nationally-ranked opponent this month.
The Lady Raiders used a strong second-half performance to turn a one-point halftime deficit into a 64-48 win Friday night against the sixth-ranked Shelton State Buccaneers at the Libla Family Sports Complex. Then on Saturday, Three Rivers used a strong fourth quarter to down Vincennes 82-59 and improve to 7-1 on the season.
"I was really, really proud of our girls and the way that they competed (Friday) and the way that they battled," Three Rivers coach Alex Wiggs said. "I thought that you could tell how we grew as a team from the first weekend (against) Wabash Valley, and then into this weekend — just how we've grown, how we've matured and how kids are getting more comfortable in their new positions. I'm just proud of the girls and the way that they battle and competed."
The No. 7 Lady Raiders trailed Shelton State 27-26 at the intermission, but outscored the Buccaneers 19-8 in the third quarter to lead 45-35 going to the fourth.
Lexi Weaver led Three Rivers with 13 points, while Jasmine Davis added 12 points, six rebounds and five assists and Kamille Brown finished the night with 10 points.
"We have a lot of girls that can put the ball in the hole, that can shoot it and that can do different things," Wiggs said. "And I thought (Friday) we saw with Bramyia Johnson off the bench, Lexi Weaver, Jasmine Davis and Kamille Brown. And it's one of those things that the next night, it could be Laylah Reese, Kayleigh (KT) Thompson, Samari Taylor and all them. I think that it just shows the depth of this team and unselfishness of this team."
Thompson also added 10 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals in the win, while Brown and Davis also had a pair of steals apiece and Yannie Flemings blocked two shots.
"That's big time," Wiggs said. "That's what I told the girls after the game. It was (a case of) no matter how you feel like you did offensively, everybody made an impact (Friday) and helped us win the game. And that's what I'm proud of, even the kids that played five minutes."
It was a different story on Saturday, when the Lady Raiders took on a sub-.500 Vincennes squad and seemed to take some time shaking off some letdown after Friday's big win.
The Trailblazers trailed Three Rivers by just four points (52-48) early in the fourth quarter before the Lady Raiders shifted gears to retake control of the contest and ultimately pull away.
Thompson paced the Lady Raiders with 24 points, while Brown added 21, Weaver had nine and Sydnei Marshall finished with seven. Thompson also had nine rebounds, while Brown added nine steals and six rebounds and Reese finished with six rebounds and five assists.
Three Rivers will spend Thanksgiving weekend in Texas when they head to Athens, Texas for the Budke/Serna Classic. The Lady Raiders face Paris Junior College on Friday before taking on host Trinity Valley on Saturday.
Mike Buhler - Daily American Republic