Lady Raiders claim Centerville holiday crown

South Ripley girls basketball was a double-digit winner in each of its three wins at the Centerville Holiday Tournament last week. The Lady Raiders have won 11 games and are set for a big game this weekend against Madison.

Chalk up three more wins for South Ripley girls basketball as the Lady Raiders went unbeaten this past week to win a championship at the Centerville Holiday Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

The Lady Raiders have won six of their last seven games, the only loss being to Class 3A No. 3 Greensburg.

Friday’s opener saw a 41-point first half by the green and white and the quick explosion paced a dominant 67-36 win against Randolph Southern (6-9). That was followed by a 55-43 victory in game two against Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian (10-5) to punch a ticket to Saturday’s championship contest.

Kaiya Rinear posted a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds which went along with eight steals. Aubrey Werner added 18 points and Claire Samples totaled 16 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Lady Raider scoring was rounded out by Evelyn Kelly with four points, Emily Parks at three points and Ellie Combs, Kinley Demaree and Illana Prosser with two points apiece.

Rinear had 23 points and nine rebounds on 9-of-9 shooting in the semifinal against Fort Wayne Blackhawk. Samples turned in a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds and Werner followed with five points. Sophie Lauber’s three points and two points each by Parks and Kelly added to the 12-point win.

The championship game against Edinburgh saw the second and third quarters prove to be the difference. After leading 18-13 after one quarter, South Ripley went on a 21-9 run in quarter two and followed it with an 18-9 edge in the third frame which put the game out of reach, leading to a 60-33 win over the Lady Lancers (8-6).

South Ripley shot over 50 percent from the field while the defense forced 31 Edinburgh turnovers. Samples led all scorers with 23 points and had nine steals and Rinear joined her in double figures with 11 points. Prosser’s eight points and five rebounds along with Kelly’s five points and seven rebounds, joined up with six points by Werner. Combs had three points and rounding out scoring was Demaree and Lauber at two points each.
The three games in all saw several Lady Raiders reach career accolades. Rinear eclipsed 1100 career points, Samples is now at 600 points and 300 rebounds and Parks now has over 100 career assists.

South Ripley (11-3) will host Class 3A No. 10 Madison on Saturday night.