RAIDER'S ATTEND SACRED HOOPS CLASSIC

The Lady Raiders attended the Sacred Hoops Classic at the University of Augustana last Saturday in girls basketball action. Their opponent was the 13-3 Laverne Cardinals of Minnesota. The game would start out slow, like two heavy weight boxers feeling themselves out, but the Raiders would be trailing 4-0. They would then find themselves leading 7-6 after the first period. The Raiders would get rolling in the second quarter doubling up the Cardinals 18-9 and holding a 25-15 point advantage going into half-time. Wagner would increase their lead to as much as 16 mid way through the third but their lead would be cut to 5 points 35-30. The Raiders would lock down on defense as the Cardinals would cut the lead to 41-40 but the Raider would knock down 4 free throws in the final :32 seconds to seal the victory. Wagner would shoot 14-39 from the field for 36% while the Cardinals would shoot 14-46 for 30%. Wagner would get our rebounded 32-28. They would commit 14 turnovers to 15 from Laverne. Wagner would hit 10- 19 from the line while Laverne would go 7-11. Sacred Hoops Player of the Game, Ashlyn Koupal would lead Wagner with 18 points off the bench. Emma Yost would record yet another double-double with 12 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Lydia Yost would net 6 points of the bench, come away with 3 steals and take a charge. Macy Koupal would put in 5 points, grab 9 boards, and dish out 2 assists and take a charge. Shalayne Nagel would have 3 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Sydney Cournoyer would round out the scoring with 1 point. “This was a very good test for us. Luverne challenged us with a lot of size, and quickness, playing 3 players well over 6’. They pressed the entire game, we got in a bit of foul trouble, so we had to battle adversity once again and find a way to win. On the defensive end we did a very good job holding them to 40 points. They have put up over 80 points almost a handful of times this year. I thought we did a great job of handling their pressure. Offensively we got tired on that end and didn’t get enough movement without the basketball in the late third and 4th quarter, which made the game closer than it should have been. Have to give Luverne credit for battling back, but then our girls deserve a lot more credit for not folding when they made a push to take the lead late. We took two charges on their stud and fouled her out with about 3 minutes left in the game. We got some big steals on their last 2 possessions and knocked down free throws to seal the game. We talk about how there are 5 plays in a close game that can win or lose a game. We made those plays today!”