Lady Raiders Roll to Decisive Victory Over Belding

The Portland Girls basketball team hosted the Black Knights of Belding on Tuesday night. The Lady Raiders were able to jump out to an early lead and they never looked back, rolling to 56-22 win.

In the first quarter, Portland was able to put 12 points in the board before Belding got their first at the 4:22 mark. Portland’s aggressive defense forces several turnovers early, and the Raiders would extend that lead to 26-3 at the end of the first.

In the second quarter the Portland defense did not allow Belding to establish their offense, and the Raiders extended their lead to 34-8 at the end of the second.

After halftime, the Raiders picked up right where they left off. Coach Jason Haid and his staff substituted his players five a time, keeping them fresh, while mixing some of his veterans with some of his less experienced players. The upperclassmen could be heard coaching their teammates on the fly, taking advantage of the situation. At the end of the third the Lady Raiders led 46-20.

Portland would continue to dominate the Black Knights through the fourth quarter. The final score was Portland 56, Belding 22.

Score by quarter:

1st – 2nd – 3rd – 4th – Final

Portland 26 – 8 – 12 – 10 – 56

Belding 3 – 5 – 14 – 0 – 22

Freshman Ashley Bower led the Raiders with 11 points. Senior Calley Goodman and Junior Jada Walton each added 9. Every Lady Raider who dressed for the game scored at least once in the game.

Sophomore Ashtyn Cegelis led the Black Knights with 6 points.

After the game, Raider Coach Jason Haid said, “I liked the way we got off. We got off to a fast start and it was important to us. We wound up playing really well at the end of the season here, we have got a big game Friday night against Charlotte, so we talked about playing fast and taking care of the basketball, and just executing here against Belding. I was pleased with the way we came out, shared the basketball, ran the floor. It was just a good team win for us. Everyone got in the score book. It was just what we needed right now after playing four games in five days.”

The Raiders move to 12-3 overall. Their next game is this Friday at Charlotte. A win will earn a share of the CAAC White championship.