Lady Raiders top 100 points on sophomore day

On a day when the Three Rivers College women's basketball team honored its 12 sophomores, it just seemed appropriate for the Lady Raiders to score more than 100 points.

Three Rivers did just that, eclipsing the century mark for the second game in a row and third time this season as it rolled to a 101-57 win over the Jefferson College Lady Vikings on Saturday in a Missouri Community College Athletic Conference contest.

That sophomore class of Brittani Wells, Alexia Weaver, Kamille Brown, Yannie Flemings, Kaleigh Thompson, Jasmine Davis, Emma Toombs, Samari Taylor, Bramyia Johnson, Laylah Reese, Sydnei Marshall and Brook Klepzig has accomplished a lot, to say the least.

• A 52-7 record so far, including a 20-2 record in Region XVI competition — and a 28-2 home record.
• Winning a Region XVI championship last season and advancing to the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Tournament in Casper, Wyoming.
• The Lady Raiders are also on the verge of advancing to the NJCAA Tournament for a school-record fifth consecutive season — and also have secured the top seed for this year's Region XVI Tournament. That's not to mention a No. 4 ranking in last week's NJCAA poll.

After a relatively close first quarter which saw Three Rivers (23-2, 10-0 MCCAC) hold a 26-19 lead at period's end, the Lady Raiders shifted gears as they opened the second quarter on a 11-2 run to start to pull away.

Baskets by Thompson and Flemings pushed the lead to 31-19 less than 80 seconds into the period, and a 3-pointer from the corner by Weaver pushed the lead to 37-21 with 4:33 left before halftime.

Kanise Mills briefly stopped the bleed with a layup on Jeffco's ensuing possession, but TRC closed the half on a 15-3 run to take full command. Davis's field goal with 3:06 left in the first half gave the Lady Raiders their first 20-point lead of the day at 44-23, and Wells's basket with 35 seconds left before the intermission doubled up the Lady Vikings 52-26 going to the locker room.

After an evenly-matched third quarter which saw TRC take a 68-42 lead to the final period, the Lady Raiders finished the game strong, scoring 33 points in the fourth quarter and breaking the century mark on the first of two Flemings free throws with 26 seconds left with the TRC bench cheering her on.

Jeffco falls to 15-7 with the loss.

Five players scored in double figures for Three Rivers on Saturday, led by 21 from Thompson. Wells added 15 points, while Reese had 14 off the bench, Weaver contributed 13 and Brown finished with 11.

Thompson also had 10 rebounds for a double-double, while Flemings had eight, Toombs had seven, Johnson added six and the duo of Reese and Taylor each finished with five. Wells had five assists, while Brown had five steals and five players — Wells, Weaver, Thompson, Davis and Johnson — had two steals apiece.

The Lady Raiders are slated to host Crowder in a Region XVI contest Wednesday, weather permitting.