photo by De'Onna Jack
by Mike Finnerty (mike.finnerty@surewestsports.com)
The only blemish on No. 8 River City's 14-1 preseason record was a 56-49 loss to No. 6 Kennedy, but that blemish has served more like a measuring stick for the upstart Lady Raiders who are a team to be reckoned with this year.
After last place finishes in the Capital Valley League in 2006 and 2007, it's been an upward climb since then.
In 2008 River City finished in fifth place (9-18), but in 2009 (17-10) and 2010 (18-10) the Raiders finished above .500 and in both years had first round exits in the Division II playoffs.
Red-hot River City continued its winning ways Wednesday night on the home floor with a 65-39 win over Cosumnes Oaks for their 14th straight victory, and it came in their SVC opener.
The first half was all about River City's full court pressure which led to numerous turnovers, and several easy baskets, that brought leads of 7-0, 11-2, and 16-6 before River City guard Jordan Ligons drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to extend the lead to 19-6.
"We wanted to use our pressure to really get up on them early," said River City head coach Jamie King. "We forced 25 turnovers in the first half, but we didn't convert the way we would like, but I think we stayed with our pressure and it paid off down the road."
That pressure certainly did payoff, because the lead only continued to climb in the second quarter. With consecutive baskets inside by Isabella Gomez, the River City lead jumped to 30-10 with under a minute to play in the half.
For all the fast break baskets the Raiders got in the first half, the second half was a three-point shooting barrage with River City connecting on six threes, and eight overall for the game.
Three players scored in double figures for River City, led by Ligons who had 16, Katie King poured in 13, and Gomez added 11.
The win improves River City to 15-1 overall and 1-0 in league, and it's clear that this year's squad is ready to win a league title and to make some noise in the playoffs, but Coach King knows his team still has work to do.
"It's a nice start, but we've got a ways to go, but we like the start."