WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — The Lady Raiders have relied on bench points all season. They got four on Monday. In an unusual turn, Three Rivers College relied almost entirely on its starters for offense and lost on the road to Arkansas State Mid-South 61-56. "You just couldn't get in the flow of anything," Three Rivers coach Jeff Walk said the physical nature of the game. "(DeNayia) Holmes got hit in the head and had to come out with a punk knot … She said she took a pretty good elbow. No foul, driving to the basket." Michael Everhart, Ge'Naisha Robinson and Holmes, all starters, got five field goals each and finished in double figures. Everhart was 4 for 8 on 3-pointers and led the Lady Raiders with 16 points. Holmes added a trio of free throws for 13 points while Robinson was 1 for 2 from the line and got 11 points.

Three Rivers (21-6) shot 40 percent from the field, and the bench was 2 for 13. At four points, it was the fewest bench points Three Rivers has had this season. "The shooting percentage was good, it is just hard to beat someone when you shoot nine free throws and they shoot 26," Walk said. Tied going into the fourth quarter, the Lady Raiders were quickly down eight points in 2 minutes. The deficit waffled for awhile until Everhart sank a 3 to cut it to five with 3 minutes to play. Three Rivers forced a quick turnover, but missed a pair of shots at the other end. Sable Greer, who had 18 points on 6 for 15 shooting for the Red Wolves, sank a 3 with 2 minutes to play. Robinson cut the lead back to five points at two different points in the closing possessions, but the Lady Raiders didn't get any closer. Three Rivers also had zero second-chance points off its six offensive rebounds, and was minus-12 on points off turnovers. It was the second fewest number of offensive rebounds for the Lady Raiders this season and the sixth time they did not get at least 10 offensive rebounds. Everhart's 3 at the beginning of the second quarter put the Lady Raiders ahead by 10 points for the first time in the game. Three Rivers was still ahead by eight late, then Raven Morrow sank a 3 just before the buzzer to cut it to five.

Everhart opened the second half with another triple and Holmes followed with a bucket to put Three Rivers back ahead by 10. Mid-South (12-11), though, rallied and was within one possession in 4 minutes. Morrow's 3 with 3 1/2 to go in the third gave Mid-South its first lead of the game, and it never trailed again. Holmes' layup to close the third quarter was the first and only time the game was tied. Joya Smith, coming off a 15-point, 20-rebound game against Jefferson on Saturday that she called the best game of her career, had eight points, 15 rebounds and nine blocks. In the past three days, Smith has set or matched personal records in points, offenisve rebounds, total rebounds, blocks, steals, assists and field goals made. "Getting her coming along that way is going to help us in these last two games and in the region tournament," Walk said. "She is hopefully going to keep getting better and better at the right time of the year."

The game wraps of Three Rivers' non-region schedule. The Lady Raiders' two remaining games in the regular season are at Mineral Area on Saturday, and at Crowder on Feb. 25. Three Rivers would clinch the top seed in the Region XVI tournament with a win against Mineral Area. "We've been focused on that all year long," Walk said. "We are where we need to be. We've put ourselves in position to have our destiny in our own hands."