The Three Rivers College women's basketball team is one step closer to history.
The Lady Raiders got off to a fast start and never looked back on the way to an 83-51 win over the Mineral Area College Lady Cardinals on Tuesday in the semifinals of the Region XVI Tournament at the Libla Family Sports Complex.
Three Rivers (28-2) will play State Fair at 6 p.m. on Friday for the Region XVI championship. A win over the Lady Roadrunners would send TRC to its fifth national tournament in a row — a school record.
The Lady Raiders didn't need long to take control of Tuesday's contest.
Jasmine Davis's basket with 5:10 left in the opening period marked the start of a 16-1 run by Three Rivers, which was capped by another Davis basket with 16 seconds left in the quarter that made the score 23-5 in favor of TRC.
Yannie Flemings hit a basket with 5:51 left before halftime to give Three Rivers its first 20-point lead of the night at 37-17, and Kaleigh Thompson's putback with 1:41 left in the half made it a 47-25 game.
Brittani Wells drained a 3-pointer with 7:43 left in the third period to give TRC a 58-32 lead — its biggest of the night at the time — and Laylah Reese's free throws with 51.1 seconds left in the third sent the home team to the fourth quarter with a 67-39 lead.
Sydnei Marshall, playing in her first game back from an injury, gave Three Rivers its first 30-point lead of the night (70-39) when she completed a three-point play just 51 seconds into the fourth quarter. Kamille Brown's putback of her own missed shot 2 1/2 minutes later put TRC ahead 78-39 for its biggest lead of the night.
Lexi Weaver led the Lady Raiders with 23 points — 10 of those in the opening period — while Thompson added 14, Wells had 10, Brown added nine, Marshall and Reese had seven apiece and Davis finished with six.
Thompson had nine rebounds, while Marshall had seven and Davis finished with six.
Notes: The Three Rivers College men's basketball team made four trips in a row to the NJCAA Tournament from 1978-81, winning a national championship in 1979, taking third in 1978, fifth in 1980 and seventh in 1981. … If the Lady Raiders beat State Fair on Friday, they are expected to earn one of the top three seeds at the NJCAA Tournament in Casper, Wyoming.
Mike Buhler - Daily American Republic