Lady Raiders close in on perfect region record 

The Three Rivers College women's basketball team needed a few minutes to get going Wednesday night — but once the Lady Raiders did, they were nearly unstoppable.

The Lady Raiders built up a 20-point halftime lead and made it stand up in an 88-58 win over the State Fair Lady Roadrunners in a Region XVI contest at the Libla Family Sports Complex.

With the win, Three Rivers improves to 26-2 on the season and 11-0 in Region XVI contests.

“I think the girls set the tempo early on,” Three Rivers coach Alex Wiggs said. “Our offense was clicking and our offense was going well, but I think we started off struggling a little bit defensively and credit goes to State Fair. But then I thought the girls did a lot better of locking in defensively and executing the game plan.”

Wednesday's win was not the only good news TRC received that day, as sophomore swing player Laylah Reese was named the NJCAA National Player of the Week after her strong performance against Moberly last Saturday.

State Fair (21-6, 6-5 Region XVI) led 13-12 after Ellie Buscher's basket with 4:42 left in the opening period, but the Lady Raiders closed the period on an 18-6 run to lead 30-19 and never looked back.

Three Rivers shot 56% from the field for the game (34-for-61), including a blistering 55% behind the arc (11-for-20). TRC also held a 35-27 edge on the boards.

Kaleigh Thompson led the Lady Raiders with 16 points, while Brittani Wells added 12, Bramyia Johnson had 11, the duo of Lexi Weaver and Courtney Bluitt added 10 apiece, Yannie Flemings had nine, Kamille Brown contributed seven and Samari Taylor finished with six.

Flemings added 11 rebounds, while Wells had nine assists, Brown had four steals and Flemings and Taylor each blocked a pair of shots.

“Whenever you shoot it that well, offensively, you give yourself a pretty good chance to win a lot of games,” Wiggs said. “Brittani continues to play better and better. You know, 12 points and nine assists. That's what that's what a point guard does, is they not only take what the defense gives them, but they also figure out ways to get their teammates involved.”

The Lady Raiders wrap up the regular season on Saturday at Mineral Area. A win over the Lady Cardinals would secure an undefeated record in Region XVI play for this season. Tipoff time at Bob Sechrest Fieldhouse in Park Hills is slated for 5 p.m.

“We can't do that unless we win the next one — and that's this team's focus is just the next game, the next game, the next game,” Wiggs said. “We've got to get ready to go for Mineral Area. We've got to make sure that we're locked in there to the (scouting report), because we know that they're a very well-coached team. Coach (Carrie) Shepherd does a great job. And we've got to make sure that we're ready for that come Saturday.”

Notes: Former TRC assistant coaches Marissa Webb and Caleb Livingston were in attendance at Wednesday's game. … Thompson is the Lady Raiders' leading scorer at 13.3 points per game, while Weaver is second at 10.9.