After a thriller Wednesday night for the men, it was the women’s turn to take the court, and they proved to the field of teams that home court matters and they aren’t taking prisoners this postseason.
The Raiders would down their first bogey – the Southwestern Bucs – with excellent paint play and a 68-42 final score. In fact – the Raiders would end the afternoon with 42 rebounds to Southwestern’s 31 and 42 paint points to Southwestern’s 22 points in the post.
After the tip – the Southwestern Bucs got to work from behind the three-point line. Ashley Lester popped off for the Bucs with two quick three-pointers and a quick lead of 8-2.
But the Raiders took the punch and started methodically putting points on the board, two at a time. Center Celia Riviere led the way and ended up scoring 12 of the team’s points in the first half. Mya Pierfax added a three-ball from deep to slice the Bucs’ lead down and keep them within sight on the scoreboard.
Sloppy ball handling would contribute to the Raider’s first lead of the night – as would about 150 high school kids who came to the game and loudly cheered on the Raiders as they made their stupendous run.
Celia Riviere continued to win in the post, supported by a raucous crowd on the other end of the court. She would end the half with 12 points and six rebounds, almost all of them on the offensive side of the court.
By the five-minute mark in the second quarter, the Raiders had a 33-16 lead over the Buccaneers, who continued to handle the ball poorly and give the Raiders easy breaks on the court.
Mekhia Chase would add to the lead right before the break with a dagger three-pointer from near the center of the key to make a statement before the team went into the tunnels.
The Raiders would end the half up 40-20 on the Buccaneers.
No change in the chasm between the two teams – the Bucs offense could not make up any ground due to their Abysmal shooting. They would end the night with a shooting percentage in the 30s.
The Raiders would increase the lead by four points and continue to outrebound the smaller Southwestern team seriously.
Head Basketball Coach for the Raiders Bart Walker put in the subs as the fourth quarter began. All five starters saw the bench together and cheered on their teammates as they played down the rest of the game against Makenna Shaffer and the rest of Southwestern’s starters. Shaffer, a first-team all-conference pick, was held to just three points on the night.
Players would rotate in and out for the Raiders.
The Raiders wrapped up the game 68-42
Scouts from Bethune-Cookman, Tuskeegee, Winthrop Coastal Carolina, Pitt, Mississippi State, University of West Georgia and West Virginia attended the game.
The Raiders will face either the Eastern Florida State College Titans or the Hillsborough Hawks on Friday at 6:00 pm at Raider Arena.
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