RAIDERS LOOK FOR REDEMPTION

The Lady Raiders opened up their region play in the second round of Region 5A girls basketball action last Thursday night. Being the #1 seed in the region they received a bye opening round and hosted their only defeat on the year, the Hanson Beavers. The game would start out slow with both teams countering each other but Wagner would hold a 10-6 advantage. Wagner would open things up in the second out scoring the Beaver 14-5 and holding a 24-11 lead at the half. Almost a nearly identical score from the previous meeting back in late January but this time it would favor the Raiders. Hanson would go away with out a fight. They would force the Raiders to turn the ball over 19 times in the game, most of them in the second half and get some easy transition points to keep them in the game. Wagner would push it’s lead to as much as 14 in the third but the Beavers would always find ways to cut it back to 10. They wouldn’t get any closer than that the rest of the way. Wagner would hold the Beavers at bay and come away with a 48-36 victory. Emma Yost would lead Wagner with 17 points, 13 boards and dish out 3 assists. Ashlyn Koupal would add 11 off the bench, grab 7 boards, and come away with 2 steals. Shalayne Nagle would be the 3rd Raider in double figures with 10 points, 9 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Macy Koupal would follow that with 8 points and 9 boards. Eve Zephier would round out the scoring with 2 points while also dishing out 2 assists. Wagner was 21-51 from the field for 41% while the Beavers were held to just 12-40 for 30%. Wagner dominated the glass with a 42-19 advantage. Wagner would commit 19 turnovers to just 8 from the Beavers. “This was a great team effort offensively and defensively. Defensively we did a great job in the half court. Need to stop dribble penetration a bit better by forcing players to their weak hand. Offensively once in the half court we did exactly what we wanted in our game plan, take open shots, get offensive rebounds, try to get one on one looks inside. We didn’t shoot well from the perimeter but taking those shots allowed us to get 18 offensive boards. We got some put back opportunities where when we met the first time we only had 3 offensive boards on a 30% shooting night. Big difference right there. We willed our way to victory right there by just out working them. We take care of the ball, we easily hold them in the 20’s and the game could have gotten ugly at the end. We held our composure and when they went man, we did a great job of finishing and redeeming ourselves from our only loss. We live to see another day. This is what it’s all about in the post-season. You must have that will to find a way to get things done to give your self an opportunity to win and we did just that! Great job ladies! Thank you to all the community for their support and those who were at the game! It’s nice to see the stands full and cheering these young ladies on!”