The 18th-ranked Cleveland Lady Raider hoop squad notched a pair of District 5-4A road victories this week, while the Blue Raiders split their battles, defeating Howard Tuesday, but falling to East Hamilton Thursday.
The Cleveland crews will head ba ck down I-75 to Ooltewah Tuesday before hosting Brainerd in non-district games Thursday, at Raider Arena.
Thursday
LADY RAIDERS 61
LADY ‘CANES 22
Winning each period, Cleveland (15-3, 4-1 District 5-4A) raced out to a 15-4 advantage by the first horn.
By the intermission the Lady Raiders had stretched the advantage to 33-12 before leading 49-22 when the third buzzer blared.
Cleveland held the hosts scoreless in the final eight minutes, while tacking on another dozen markers.
Going 6-for-6 at the free throw line, plus sinking a pair of long-range bombs, sophomore Ariyah Huffman topped the victors with a game-high 18 points.
Meanwhile, junior Laney Copeland drilled a trio of treys to help out with 11 and Jada Davis came on for 10 markers, including 3-of-3 “freebies” and dialing long distance once.
Junior Emily Patterson netted nine points, while senior Ilianis Rodriguez dropped in eight.
Kaley Hirvens led the way for East Hamilton (6-9, 1-4) with 14 points, six rebounds, a half dozen steals and a couple of blocked shots.
HURRICANES 60
RAIDERS 46
After a nearly even opening eight minutes saw East Hamilton (7-8, 2-3) got a little breathing room with a 14-9 second period run.
The Hurricanes went on an 18-13 third period streak before finishing the evening off with a 15-12 spurt.
Spreading around the scoring, the hosts got 15 points from Jack Pendleton, plus 10 by Antony Sims.
Jack Primus and Jayden Evans netted nine each, with Jayden Haywood right n their heels with eight.
Cleveland (8-9, 2-3) fought back with senior Brayden Beavers netting a game-high 21 points, including a trio of 3-balls and 3-of-4 foul shots.
Malachi King helped out with nine markers, while Dee Lovelace put up eight.
Tuesday
LADY RAIDERS 86
LADY TIGERS 16
Cleveland took control from the opening tip, racing out to a 30-5 advantage at the first horn before taking a 52-11 edge into the halftime locker rooms.
After the Lady Raiders stretched the difference to 57 points (73-16) at the end of the third frame before holding the hosts scoreless in the final eight minutes.
Huffman ripped the cords for 32 points, making 14-of-17 shots, including a trio of triples. She also copped four steals and three rebounds, plus she blocked a shot.
Copeland sank half of her 10 field goal attempts, with a pair of long-range bombs, plus a couple of free throws, for 14 points, plus she handed out a trio of helps.
Gravelle helped out with 11 points, seven caroms, a couple of thefts, plus she swatted a shot attempt.
Rodriguez copped 10 steals, added eight markers and handed out a half dozen “dimes,” while Patterson netted six points, cleared six ricochets, had a couple of thefts, two assists and blocked a shot.
RAIDERS 60
TIGERS 38
In between tight opening and closing periods, Cleveland pulled away with a 40-22 run in the middle two frames.
Beavers sizzled the strings for four long-range shots on his way to 14 points.
Gabe Krepps helped out with a dozen markers, while Baraka Ndegwa added seven points, including a pair of buckets from distance.
Chris Bradley collected a dozen markers for Howard (5-11, 0-4).
GAME SUMMARIES
District 5-4A
Thursday, Jan. 15
at Ooltewah
Girls Game
Cleveland 15 18 16 12 — 61
East Hamilton 4 8 10 0 — 22
LADY RAIDERS (61) — Ariyah Huffman 18, Laney Copeland 11, Jada Davis 10, Emily Patterson 9, Ilianis Rodriguez 8, Addy Gravelle 5, Bradford, Smith, Pryor, Lambert.
LADY HURRICANES (22) — Kaley Hirvens 14, Watkiins 4, White 2, Villanuiva 2, Eller, Adams, Nichols, Abernathy.
3-POINTERS: CHS 8 (Copeland 3, Huffman 2, Rodriguez 2, Davis); EH none.
FREE THROWS: CHS 11-of-15 (73.3%); EH 0-6 (0%).
RECORDS: No. 18 Cleveland 15-3, 4-1 District 5-4A; East Hamilton 6-9, 1-4 District 5-4A.
Boys Game
Cleveland 12 9 13 12 — 46
East Hamilton 13 14 18 15 — 60
BLUE RAIDERS (46) — Brayden Beavers 21, Malachi King 9, Dee Lovelace 8, DeLoach 3, Ndegwa 3, Evans 2, Pride, Krepps, Johnson.
HURRICANES (60) — Jack Pendleton 15, Antony Sims 10, Jack Primus 9, Jayden Evans 9, Jayden Haywood 8, Johnson 3, Lawrence.
3-POINTERS: CHS 5 (Beavers 3, DeLoach, Ndegwa); EH 8 (Primus 3, Baldwin 2, Johnson, Pendleton, Evans).
FREE THROWS: CHS 7-of-17 (41%); EH 8-of-10 (80%).
RECORDS: Cleveland 8-9, 3-2 District 5-4A; East Hamilton 7-8, 2-3 District 5-4A.
Tuesday, Jan. 13
Girls Game
Cleveland 30 22 21 13 — 86
Howard 5 6 5 0 — 16
LADY RAIDERS (86) —Ariyah Huffman 32, Laney Copeland 14, Addy Gravelle 11, Ilianis Rodriguez 8, Jada Davis 7, Emily Patterson 6, Pryor 4, Smith 2, Lambert 2, Bradford.
LADY TIGERS (16) — Corniya Robinson 12, T. Gaines 3, M. Gaines 1, Lovingood, Jackson, Hamilton, Robinson.
3-POINTERS: CHS 5 (Huffman 3, Copeland 2); How 0.
FREE THROWS: CHS 13-of-14 (92.9%); How 2-of-4 (50%).
RECORDS: No. 18 Cleveland 14-3, 3-1 District 5-4A; Howard 6-8, 1-3 District 5-4A.
Boys Game
Cleveland 10 22 18 10 — 60
Howard 6 10 9 13 — 38
BLUE RAIDERS (60) — Brayden Beavers 14, Gabe Krepps 12, Baraka Ndegwa 7, Daxton Evans 6, Lovelace 4, King 4, Jones 4, Pride 3, Morla 2, Johnson 2, Giannasio.
HUSTLIN’ TIGERS (38) — Chris Bradley 12, Larry David Sr. 6, Angel Strickland 5, Ware 4, Williams 3, Fullilove 3, Ray 2, Boyd 2, Cruz, Neil, Houston, Satterfield.
3-POINTERS: CHS 7 (Beavers 4, Ndegwa 2, Pride); How 1 (David).
FREE THROWS: CHS 9-of-12 (75%); How 15-of-25 (60%).
RECORDS: Cleveland 8-8, 3-1 District 5-4A; Howard 5-11, 0-4 District 5-4A.