By: Joe Shouse, Sports Writer
MIDDLE POINT – The Lady Raiders ended their state tournament run falling to fifth seed Allen East 43-36 in the sectional final played at Lincolnview High School. With the loss the Raiders finish their season at 13-11. For the 17-6 Lady Mustangs, they move on to play in the district semi-final round, going up against second seed Delphos Jeferson at the Elida Fieldhouse.
Wayne Trace took an early lead over the Mustangs and after the initial quarter of play held a slim 7-4 lead. The scoring picked up in the second period with Allen East scoring 14 points and the Raiders adding 11 to end the first half knotted at 18 a piece. The third quarter was critical for the red, white, and blue putting just two-points on the board while AE managed eight to take a 26-20 advantage into the final eight minutes of play.
Both teams turned up the offense in the fourth perid but the Raiders could never get the momentum. The Mustangs poured in 17 fourth quarter points to the Raiders 16 to settle the seven-point Mustang win.
For the winners, Rilynn Jones led all scorers with 16, making 10-14 from the free throw line. Also in double digits was Savanna Brooks with 12 followed by Elle Richardson (seven), Kennedy Truex (four) and Taylor Nickles (four).
For the Raiders sophomore Harper Myers led the scoring with nine points followed by Lexi Moore with eight points and a team high nine rebounds. Gracie Shepherd added seven followed by Careen Winans with five, Abby Moore with four, Elise Miller two and Caroline Winans with one to round out the Raiders scoring.
Wayne Trace shot 40 percent from the field on 10-25 while the Mustangs connected on 12-35 for 34 percent. Both teams combined for 47 free throws with Wayne Trace connecting on 15 and AE with 17. Turnovers and steals was the difference in the contest with Allen East picking up 17 steals to just five for the Raiders. In the turnover department the Mustangs collected just 11 miscues while the Raiders struggled taking care of the ball—turning it over 23 times.
Wayne Trace is a young team and will return a solid nucleus next season. The Raiders will graduate two players including leading scorer Gracie Shepherd and Abby Moore.
