The Superior Express -

It wasn’t easy but the Lawrence-Nelson girls basketball team swept their D 2-7 sub-district bracket to advance to the District D2-2 District final. One more win and the Raiders are state tournament bound. The Raiders entered the sub-district fray as the number three seed. They disposed of number 2 seed Wilcox-Hildreth 39-36 at Franklin, last Tuesday. The Raiders then ousted the number one seeded Franklin Flyers 32-30 in overtime, at Franklin, Thursday, to move on to the district finals.

Lawrence-Nelson and Wilcox-Hildreth played each other evenly for the first two quarters with the score tied at 16 all at the half. The Raiders fell behind by four points after three quarters. They dug deep and rallied to make up the deficit and more as they eked out a 39-36 win to advance to the next round.

The number one seeded Franklin Flyers were a tough bunch to bring down to earth. The teams stayed within three points of each other until the final period of play. Franklin held off the Raiders to secure a 29-29 tie at the end of regulation play. Lawrence-Nelson scored three points in overtime while holding Franklin to one point. The two-point win was all the Raiders required to move on to the district final and an opportunity to gain a place at the state tournament.

Emma Epley lit up the score board for 17 points against Wilcox-Hildreth. Emily Miller hit for 10 points. Aleah Heikkinen dropped in seven points. Katelyn Mazour added three points. Alex Miller scored two points. Miller gathered up 10 rebounds for the Raiders. Heikkinen dragged down six rebounds. Epley claimed five rebounds. Elsa Jorgensen, K. Mazour and Miller accounted for three rebounds each. Avery Mazour had two rebounds.

E. Miller put through 21 points for the Raiders against Franklin. Epley contributed five points. Alex Miller, Heikkinen and Jorgensen scored two points apiece. E. Miller secured seven rebounds. Heikkinen hauled away four rebounds. Epley grabbed two rebounds. Jorgensen, A. Mazour and K. Mazour snagged one rebound each.

The Raiders face their toughest test of the season in their district final game. They face off against Falls City Sacred Heart, Friday, at Diller-Odell High School, Odell. The Sacred Heart Irish are the number two ranked D-2 school in the state. They are seeded in the number two slot in the district finals. The Raiders are seeded in the number 15 slot. Lawrence-Nelson should draw their inspiration from the little engine that could as he puffed, “I think I can, I think I can.” The Raiders proved they could in sub-district play. They just need to keep on coulding in the district final.