Three Rivers College head coach Alex Wiggs captured his 150th win with the program Wednesday night, as the Lady Raiders earned a 68-59 win over Crowder College.
The victory improved TRC to 17-3 on the season, while dropping the Lady Roughriders to 14-5.
"It feels good, I have been very blessed with a lot of talent in my first six years as a head coach," Wiggs said. "I am really proud of the women who have been a part of this program since I've been here."
Guard Samyah Jordan led the way for the Lady Raiders, as she scored 25 points and added five assists. She was flanked by forward Kiera Neal, who finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Forward Caitlin Lord added five points and ten rebounds, while Da'Naya Ross tacked on ten rebounds as well.
The first half of the game proved to be a back-and-forth battle, with the Lady Raiders taking a 32-28 lead into intermission. Jordan and Neal did much of the offensive damage, with freshman Amelia Corasaniti joining in on the fun as well.
The third quarter of the contest started auspiciously enough for the Lady Raiders, as Crowder went on an 8-0 to begin the frame. Uninspired by his team's performance, Wiggs expressed his discontent to his team, and they promptly responded.
"Things did pick up, because we started off the quarter with zero defensive energy," Wiggs said. "We started actually guarding them, we got stops, and then that led to easy baskets. I would like to see us come out of half with that same energy, but overall, I am proud of the effort tonight."
Steals and scores from Corasaniti and Jordan in the third stimulated a rally that saw the Lady Raiders capture the lead for good headed into the fourth quarter. TRC quickly trimmed away at the six-point lead the Lady Roughriders had previously possessed at the midway point through the third.
In the final frame, Three Rivers College established a separation between itself and Crowder, leading by as much as 12 points late in the contest before securing the 68-59 region victory.
Aubri Wilson and Camdyn Hart led Crowder with 14 points apiece in the contest, while Kylee Cole added 11 points for the visitors.
Wiggs complimented Neal and Jordan, who combined for 41 of the team's points.
"When the offense wasn't flowing, those two stepped and made big-time plays for us, and that's what you have to have if you want to win," Wiggs said.
Corasaniti agreed with her head coach.
"It's easy playing with both of them, because Samyah is the best point guard in the region, I reckon, while Kiera always manages to get the important rebounds," she said. "We just all feed off of them, and each other."
Saturdays contest at Moberly has been rescheduled to February 2nd due to the winter storm coming in over the weekend so the Lady Raiders will next play on Wednesday at home against State Fair.
Liaudwin Seaberry Jr. - Daily American Republic
