The Winnsboro Lady Raiders came to Mineola on Monday of Christmas week and continued the level of play which sent them into the state playoffs last year. They carved up the Lady Jackets, handing them a 78-28 defeat.

No doubt the Lady Raiders are a special team. They feature quick feet, quick hands and a talent for driving and passing at unique angles. They take great joy in making lay-ups.

Defensively, the Winnsboro side makes even the simplest of tasks – such as a pass from the point to the wing – difficult for the opposing team. 

Lady Jacket Kapri Riley put-back an offensive rebound to knot the score at 2-2. It was the last that the home side saw of the lead on the day. 

Winnsboro had scoring runs of 8 and 12 points to surge to a 17-point advantage after the end of one quarter of play.

The Lady Raiders forced nine first quarter turnovers with an oppressive man-to-man defense and out-rebounded Mineola in the same stretch 2:1. They continued the performance throughout the first half using excellent court awareness. At the half it was a 30-point game.

The Lady Jackets were clearly in a fight to simply negotiate the court. Winnsboro rattled off 10 points unanswered to start the second half.   

At the crux of the problem facing the Jackets was the ability of Winnsboro to deny the Jackets the ability to pass the ball. This forced Mineola to work off the dribble, and despite the significant ball-handling skills of Macy Fischer and Kapri Riley, it was a bridge too far against Winnsboro’s quickness and anticipation.

There were positives which came out of this game. Post Jocelyn Whitehead not only had a strong presence inside but exhibited agility around the bucket. Riley had some success finding driving seams in the Lady Raider defense, Macy Fischer put in a nice floater in the lane, while Ava Johnson had another excellent night of solid defense.  

The Lady Jackets are a good basketball team. The Lady Raiders are a team returning from the state tourney. Mineola should not let this defeat influence their season. They will have a strong run this year, and a second crack at the Lady Raiders.