The Raider lady hoopsters faced two very strong opponents last week in Rosemount and Visitation. First was Rosemount at home on Dec. 6 and then Visitation in Mendota Heights on Dec. 8. The game against the Irish was the most difficult loss of the season with the Raiders falling 64-36. Against the Blazers, Hastings kept it close but could not pull out the victory.

Against Rosemount, the game started fairly even with both teams trading points off the transition until Rosemount started having more success defensively in transition near the end of the first half. At the intermission, the Irish had the lead 25-19.

Upon returning to action for the second half, it was all Rosemount. Hastings simply could not find a counter punch to the Rosemount offense and the Irish ran away with the game outscoring the Raiders 39-17 in the second half to make the final 64-36.

Rosemount’s Avery Moeller led the night with 28 points. For Hastings, Lindsey Wagner was the only Raider with double digit points at 11. Katherine Ruder had the second most points with six coming off the Raider bench. Rosemount focused on shutting down the three Raider shooters, Keagan McVicker, Haley Strain and Emma Bakker. McVicker finished with five points, Strain with three and Bakker with two, so the Irish’s plan worked.

On the floor, things were a little different for Hastings at Visitation. The Blazers played only six players total with their top two scorers putting in 21 points each. The rest of their lineup combined for 24 points which is huge considering the small number of players that made it to the floor.

The offenses on both teams did a great job connecting with their shots the entire game. At the end of the first half, the score was 33-27 Visitation. Hastings continued to keep it close in the second half nearly completing the comeback, but the six point deficit was too much to overcome and Hastings fell 66-57.

The top three Raider scorers fared much better in game two of the week. McVicker netted 19 points, Bakker had 11 and once again, Ruder came off the bench and contributed big in points netting nine. Strain finished the night with eight points.

The ladies travel to Kasson-Mantorville on Fri, Dec. 16 for a 7:00 p.m. tip then follow that game up with a 2:00 p.m. tip in Rochester to take on John Marshall. Tue, Dec. 20, they head up 61 to Park of Cottage Grove for another 7:00 p.m. tip against the Wolfpack and are off until Dec. 28 when they return home for their Christmas tournament.

Emma Bakker is tied for second in Raiders scoring with Haley Strain. Both have 26 points on the season, and both provide a hard work ethic in the paint and on the perimeter for Hastings.Photo by Bruce Karnick