LADY RAIDERS PLACE 7TH AT STATE A'S

The Lady Raiders headed out to Spearfish this last weekend for the girls class A state tournament. Wagner opened up with the undefeated Mahpiya Luta. Wagner would find themselves trailing 15-14 after the first period then trailing by 9 at the half. A scoring drought from the last 2 minutes of the first half and the first 5 of the third quarter would not make it any easier on the Raiders as they would eventually fall 39-76. Mahpiya Luta would use their relentless press and cause 37 turnovers for the Raiders. Wagner would attempt 39 shots and convert on 41% while Mahpiya Luta would convert on 33-74 for 45%. Wagner would out rebound Mahpiya Luta 28-27. Ashlyn Koupal would lead the Raiders with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks. Lydia Yost would finish with 5 points, and 4 boards. Genesis Patterson would tally 4 points, while Braxton Nedved would finish with 3, 3 boards, and 5 assists. Ravyn Medricky would round out the scoring with 2 points and 3 boards. “This was a very good team that we faced. They loved the up-tempo style. When we got them into a half-court game we did a lot of things very well. We scored at a high rate and on the defensive end we made the hit shots in which they were struggling. It’s very hard to win games with 37 turnovers and let the opposing team take 44 more shots than you. We also hit that 7-minute scoring drought that let them push the lead to 20 early in the 3rd and that can be demoralizing as a team, but our girls played hard to the finish.”