Last Thursday night, the Wagner Lady Raiders welcomed the Mt. Vernon Plankinton Titans to the home court for the final round of Region 5A play.

The Titans jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but Wagner quickly answered with a 14-2 run to close out the first quarter, taking control at 14-2. The Lady Raiders continued their hot shooting in the second quarter, pouring in 24 points while holding the Titans to just 7, building a commanding 38-11 lead at halftime.

The Titans came out firing from beyond the arc in the third quarter, knocking down three straight three-pointers to cut the lead to 22 points. However, the Raiders regained their rhythm, outscoring Mt. Vernon Plankinton 17-6 for the remainder of the quarter. With the running clock in effect, Wagner cruised to a convincing 65-34 victory.

Wagner’s sharpshooters connected on 24 of 44 shots for an impressive 55% shooting, including 8 of 16 from three-point range. The Titans managed 13 of 43 for 30%. On the boards, Wagner dominated with a 27-12 rebounding edge. Turnovers were fairly even, with Wagner committing 14 compared to 19 for the Titans.

In what was her final home game, senior standout Ashlyn Koupal put on a show, leading all scorers with 25 points. She also pulled down 15 rebounds, dished out 8 assists, blocked 5 shots, and recorded 3 steals.

Supporting Ashlyn’s effort, Braxton Nedved added 16 points, along with 2 assists and 2 steals. Ravyn Medricky contributed 6 points and 6 rebounds. Mateya Bruguier and Hayden Knudsen each chipped in 5 points; Hayden also had 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals, while Mateya added 2 assists and 3 steals. Hannah Holzbauer scored 4 points and grabbed 2 boards. Off the bench, Camry Link and Peytyn Wiechmann each added 2 points.

Coach Koupal praised the team’s defensive effort in the first half, noting a few slow rotations that led to easy looks for the Titans. “In the third quarter, we tried switching matchups, but missed some communication which gave them wide-open shots. Offensively, we got things rolling when we pushed the pace and moved well without the ball. We had a few careless passes in the half-court set, but overall great job by the ladies.”

With this win, Wagner earns another week of playoff basketball. The Lady Raiders will travel to Irene on March 5th to take on the Dell Rapids Quarriers at 7:00 p.m. for a chance to advance to the state tournament.