Kicking off the season with a great start, the Lady Raider varsity basketball team stands with a record of 10-2. With a solid starting lineup the Lady Raiders are going to be a threat this year. After defeating 5A Justin Northwest by a margin of 19 points, it is clear Rider will have a target on their backs this season. The ladies will begin district competition next Tuesday, Dec. 15 at Denton Ryan, one of the top contenders in the district. Along with Rider and Denton Ryan, Old High, Denton Guyer and The Colony are also predicted to be at the top of the district rankings. At the Fantasy of Lights tournament hosted in Wichita Falls over Thanksgiving break the Lady Raiders were able to come out with a third place finish and a trophy to show for it. The Raiders only loss over the tournament was to Old High. When Rider and Old High meet twice during district, it will be a good match up that will be sure for an interesting game.

Juniors Ashley Zimpel, Sammy Hislop and Lauren Haley have all been members of varsity since the very beginning of their high school careers, and are a huge part of the team’s success so far this season, and will hopefully carry their combined talents on to senior year. In Thursday night’s game against San Jacinto of Amarillo, Rider’s Sammy Hislop, Lauren Haley and Ashley Zimpel each contributed 11 points each to the 41 to 21 victory over the Lady Patriots. On the season the Lady Raiders have a 30% shot completion stat from the 3-point line. Junior Sammy Hislop leads scoring with an average of 18 points per game. She is followed by Lauren Haley with an average 13 points per game. Looking on the defensive end of things Sammy Hislop has a standout 7.7 average rebounds per game, with freshman Taylor Caswell trailing with an average 5.4 and junior captain Ashley Zimpel following close behind with and average 4.1. Varsity head coach Jeff Martin says, “We have plenty to improve on, but we have started our season well.”