LUBBOCK, Texas — Given a historic chance to play a third sea- son, a few Three Rivers women’s basketball players jumped at the chance to return after reaching the final four at the NJCAA National Tournament last year.
The Raiders returned as the top ranked and top-seeded team.
“Losing in the final four last year was kind of a let down because of all the hard work we put into that season,” Three Rivers COVID-sophomore Autumn Dodd said.
“Winning a national championship was the main reason why I came back this year.”
The Raiders, however, were upset Thursday afternoon by Tyler Junior College in a 70-42 loss.
Dodd and fellow COVID-sophomores Myia Yelder and Jamiyah Thomas helped the Raiders to consecutive trips to the national tournament and an overall record of 78-8 the past three seasons.
Dodd and Yelder were the driving force of the offense this season as Yelder led the team in scoring with 17.5 points per game followed by Dodd with 11.7 points per contest. Dodd, the former Neelyville product, also led the team in steals per game with 3.6.
“Not only do I want to win a national championship, but I really like what we have here at Three Rivers,” Yelder said earlier this week. “With COVID and everything, we couldn’t visit places and see if we liked them or not, but I already know that I like Three Rivers and the team we have here.”
Not only were Dodd and Yelder in the normal starting lineup, there also were solid bench players in Thomas and COVID-redshirt-freshman Grace Jerome as it was hard to find another team with as much depth as the Raiders.
“The team is not really different from last year,” Thomas said earlier this week. “There are a few freshmen on the team and being No. 1 in the nation are the two biggest differences from last year but overall our goal is the same.”
Overall, the Raiders relied on their team play with the depth they have up and down the roster. Three Rivers features 10 players that average 3.3 points or more per game.
Three Rivers was also without All-American guard Chaylea Mosby, who missed the entire season with a back injury. The Dexter native scored 705 points in 56 career games the previous two seasons and ended up fifth all-time in program history with 142 career 3-pointers, ranking third with 39.1% shooting from 3-point range, ninth in free-throw percentage at 76.7% and had the best two-point field goal percentage ever at 62.5%.
With the COVID-19 pandemic offering players a third year of eligibility, Yelder and Dodd entered the national tournament having played in 84 career games with Thomas at 81.
Yelder finished second all-time in career scoring, entering the tournament at 1,175 points, and already had the most free-throw attempts (422), the most steals (215) and ranks second in free-throws made and assists (142), two shy of the record held by Stephanie Dorris in 1994-95.
Dodd ranks fourth all-time in steals.
This season, the Raiders ranked third in the nation in points per game and among the top-5 shooting teams in the nation this season while top-10 in rebounding and assists.
“We come together as a team and that’s the biggest thing for us,” Jerome said earlier. “We have a lot of shooters and post players that can score for us.”
Robert Augsdorfer - Daily American Republic