It didn't take long for the Three Rivers College Lady Raiders basketball team to take command of Monday's home game, starting with the first shot of the game coming from Kiera Neal. This led to an 8-0 run en route to a 77-27 victory, for the team's ninth win of the season.
"We needed to make sure we came in and executed," Neal said. "We knew it was going to be a dogfight; we just came out and did everything our coach told us to do, and we fell in love with our teammates' success."
The first shots from John. A Logan College came from sophomore guard Damieona Williams-Woulard via two free throws, with just under four and a half minutes remaining. Freshman Lady Raider Samyah Jordan knocked down the final shot of the quarter as TRC led 12-4.
Not long into the second quarter, Lady Raiders freshman Jordan Blake knocked down a shot, which was followed by back-to-back baskets from John A. Logan's Brooklyn Burnett and Kiera Whitaker.
Those two shots didn't faze the Lady Raiders, who took command on the offensive end of the floor with an 18-0 run, including back-to-back three-point shots from freshman Londyn Harper.
"Londyn is really talented, as far as she can score on the offensive end of the floor," said Raiders head coach Alex Wiggs. "She can guard, and that's something Londyn does really well is that she defends. It was nice to see her in that second quarter get going and hit back-to-back 3's, and get our energy going."
The Lady Raiders closed out the half with a layup from Jordan and took a 39-10 lead into the locker room at halftime.
"We just needed to make sure that we came out and executed," Neal said. "Make sure we rebound, and know where our men are. Sometimes we can get lost on the floor, so we needed to make sure we knew where our men were."
The Lady Raiders' offense didn't skip a beat going into the third quarter with another run on offense, which included a three-pointer from Courtney Bluitt, and a mid-range shot from Neal, who led the team offensively with 14 points.
"Kiera is coming off an ACL injury," Wiggs said. "Whenever you are coming off an ACL, you're hoping and praying not to tear your ACL again or tear the other one. I thought she did a good job, and just getting back to the attention to detail and being aggressive."
It took a few minutes for anyone to score in the fourth quarter, but Neal got the offense started with two free throws as the Lady Raiders easily closed out John A. Logan for their ninth win in a row to begin the season.
"I was really, really proud of our girls," Wiggs said. "A big thing with a young team, and a new team, is the players accepting their role and buying into each other's success. That was a big emphasis today and a big focal point. Whenever we struggled today offensively, we didn't get down."
The Lady Raiders' next game will be Friday on the road in Athens, Texas, against Panola College, followed by a Saturday game against Trinity Valley College.
"Our preparation as far as their bodies, their nutrition, how they're feeling come Friday and Saturday starts now and starts tonight," Wiggs added. "They've got to remember that they can't stay up all night. We've got to make sure we're still sleeping and resting because we've got a nine-hour drive ahead of us."
Alex Martin - Daily American Republic