The Wagner Lady Raiders celebrated Senior Night in style Friday, earning their fifth consecutive SESD Conference championship with a commanding 5830 victory over the Platte-Geddes Panthers.

Wagner wasted little time setting the tone, jumping out to a 17-11 lead after the first quarter and extending the advantage to 35-20 by halftime. The Lady Raiders’ trademark defense took over in the second half, allowing just 10 total points over the final two quarters to secure the win and cap off a perfect 8-0 conference season.

Wagner shot an efficient 24-of-46 from the field (52 percent) while holding Platte-Geddes to 12-of-35 shooting (34 percent). The Lady Raiders also controlled the boards with a decisive 28-11 rebounding advantage.

Senior Ashlyn Koupal closed out her regular season in spectacular fashion, leading all scorers with 29 points. She completed a dominant all-around performance with 10 rebounds, six steals, five assists, and two blocks. Braxton Nedved added 12 points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

Ravyn Medricky contributed six points, while Mateya Bruguier chipped in five points, five rebounds, and two assists. Hannah Holzbauer filled the stat sheet with four points, four rebounds, a team-high six assists, and three steals. Hayden Knudsen rounded out the scoring with two points, three rebounds, five assists, and two steals.

'First of all, congratulations to all the girls on being SESD Conference Champs for the fifth straight season where we finished 8-0,' said the Wagner coach. 'Platte-Geddes is a young team that is on the rise. They are very athletic, and I thought we did a great job, especially in the second half, containing them from getting to the rim.'

'Offensively we shot really well the first half but struggled a bit in the third where we only scored eight points. We got an explosion of points early in the fourth to get the thirty-point lead and running clock, and our younger players came in and defensively held them at bay. Congratulations to Ashlyn on Senior Night and also for her presentation of receiving her McDonald’s All-American jersey. We are now on to region play where we will host next Thursday the winner of Mt. Vernon-Plankinton or Scotland. Great job ladies — now on to a new season where everyone is 0-0.'

In junior varsity action, Wagner started quickly with an 11-6 lead but was outscored 24-8 over the next two periods and fell 44-31.

Peytyn Wiechmann led the JV squad with nine points and four rebounds. Valencia Big Bear added seven points, five boards, two assists, and two steals. Camry Link finished with six points, four rebounds, and two steals, while Clarah Soukup totaled five points, eight rebounds, and two steals. Olivia Podzimek and Mila Hopkins each scored two points, with Hopkins also adding two steals.

With conference play complete, the Lady Raiders now turn their focus to region competition, where the postseason journey begins anew.