Lady Raiders basketball season underway

The Rice Lady Raiders basketball season is officially underway and already have three games under their belt.

@ Palacios 51-17 L

In their first game of the season the Lady Raiders played Palacios in a tournament.

The Lady Raiders were overwhelmed by the Palacios potent and experienced offense and defense. But despite losing the game, the Lady Raiders competed with a very talented Palacios team.

The Lady Raiders defense remained aggressive throughout the game despite what the scoreboard showed and it payed off for them. The Lady Raiders forced several turnovers and frustrated the Palacios offense at times.

Tricelle Fields continued her fantastic senior athletic run, being at the center of both the offense and defense for the Lady Raiders. Being a senior on the team she knows that her leadership is valuable, and she does not hesitate to lead by example.

With this game behind them, they waited for their next matchup against Bloomington.

@ Bloomington 39-38 L The Lady Raiders came into their second matchup with a little bit more swagger and confidence ready to leave their mark on this tournament.

The Lady Raiders learned a lot in the loss to Palacios and turned it into a positive in their second game during the tournament. The Lady Raiders’ defense game to play in game two and held the host Bloomington to only 39 points.

The defensive play ignited the offense and went from scoring 17 points in game one to scoring 38 in game two. While they have not found their first win, the Lady Raiders gained a lot of confidence from this game and pushed forward in search of their first win.

Vs. St. Joseph 28-24 L In their third game at the tournament, the Lady Raiders were still in search of their first win of the season.

The Lady Raiders found themselves in another tight battle in this tournament as they went toeto- toe with St. Joseph. Offense was very limited in this game with the score sitting at 12-11 in favor of St. Joseph at halftime.

The third quarter had the biggest momentum swing with St. Joseph scoring 10 points in the third while the Lady Raiders scored two. The Lady Raiders defense returned to form in the fourth quarter but it the surge from St. Joseph in the third quarter proved to be too much.

Still searching for their first win, the Lady Raiders look forward to their next matchup against Ganado in Ganado, TX.