The Lady Raiders opened the state tournament against a very good Rapid City Christian team that featured one of the top players in the state scoring over 2400 points in her career. That wouldn’t scare the Raiders as they would jump out to an early 12-0 lead and then hold a 16-3 lead after one. RCC would trail by as many as 15 but trim the lead back to 12 trailing 28-16 going into half. The Comets would continue to chip away and cut the lead to 6 late in the third but a three by Eve Zephier would push the lead back to 9 after three quarters. Wagner’s sharp shooters would do some major damage in the 4th hitting 5 triples out scoring the Comets 22-13 in the final quarter to win the game 67-47. Ashlyn Koupal would lead all scorers with 22 points, 6 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Emma Yost would post another double-double by adding 17 points, 12 boards, and 3 blocks. Shalayne Nagel would add 14 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists. Macy Koupal would be the 4th Raider in double figures with 11 points, 10 boards, and 6 assists. Eve Zephier would round out the scoring with 3 points, 6 points, and a team high 7 assists. Lydia Yost would grab 3 boards and dish out 1 assist. Overall the Raider were 24-44 for 55% while the Comets were 16-59 for 27%. Wager would out rebound the Comets 4228. The Raiders would commit 17 turnovers compared to 6 from the Rapid City Christian. “This was a great way to start the tournament. We hit big shots when we needed to and we had our hands full with one of the best scorers in the state. We kept her scoreless the first quarter and forced her into some very difficult shots. For the most part we handled their press and then converted in the half court offensively.”