Saliz Ward (3) gets an early steal before going up for the layup in Wylie East’s victory over Naaman Forest. The Lady Raiders’ defense was strong for most of the night, including limiting the Lady Rangers to just two points after halftime.  Austin Smith/The Wylie News

GARLAND – The Wylie East Lady Raiders opened district play last week with a crushing 66-19 victory over Naaman Forest. It was the girls’ seventh win in eight games, as Wylie East now sits at 9-4 on the year.

Still, it wasn’t exactly the flawless performance the final score would lead one to believe. After being off for a week and a half due to Thanksgiving, the Lady Raiders struggled to shoot the ball late.

Naaman Forest also came out with a chip on their shoulder, fighting hard for loose balls and rebounds. Still, Wylie East took a 12-10 lead after a quarter of play.

“I think our focus really wasn’t there at the beginning,” Coach Hodapp said. “But (Naaman Forest) came out and played really hard. It kind of helped knock the rust of our wheels after not playing for 10 days. It was kind of a shell shock. We needed to refocus and settle down.”

From there, little went wrong for the Lady Raiders. Thanks to 14 combined points from seniors Brooklyn King and LeAire Nicks, the girls offense was able to find some rhythm. 

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By Austin Smith | s[email protected]