Double bow-out victories for Raiders

By Greg Oakford
KNOX Raiders bounced back from two consecutive two point losses with an emphatic 43-point win over Albury/Wodonga at Knox Converse Stadium on Saturday night.
Carrying slight injuries to Cam Rigby who played limited minutes, Nick Payne who suited up but didn’t hit the floor and John Philip who is fighting an illness, the Raiders got great all-round production from their players but were led by import duo Lester Strong and C.J. Massingale and versatile swingman Mick Hill.
Playing with an added sense of urgency, the Raiders won every quarter of the game including a 36-19 second period which set the home team up with a 24-point half-time lead. A 40-point last quarter from the Raiders pushed the final margin out to 131-88 and moves the team to an 11-10 season record, good enough for second spot on the East Conference ladder (when factoring the AIS out due to their decision to opt out of finals because of international tournament commitments) and one game clear of Kilsyth (10-11) and Bendigo (10-11).
The Raiders will look to carry their momentum over to this Wednesday’s School Holidays Local Derby against the Dandenong Rangers, tipping off at 7.30pm at Knox Converse Stadium.
Earlier on Saturday night, the Knox Ford Raiders SEABL Women continued to show why they are the form side of the competition, recording their ninth consecutive win over the Albury/Wodonga Lady Bandits 78-47.
The Raiders jumped their opponent early with some full court defensive pressure and great ball movement on the offensive end, setting themselves up with a 29-10 lead after the completion of one quarter. The second was more of an even ten minutes of action with both teams notching up 19 for the quarter but the visiting Bandits were still facing a tough challenge coming out of the main break being down 19 points.
In the second half it was all Raiders as the Bandits struggled to find any offensive rhythm against the swarming Knox defence. Julia Tan causing havoc for the Lady Bandits with seven steals to accompany seven points, seven rebounds and three assists. Albury/Wodonga could only muster up 18 second half points, leaving the final margin at 31 points to the Raiders.
Next up on the Raiders hit list will be defending SEABL Champion Kilsyth who after some early season troubles have hit some form including victories in four of their last five games. The Lady Cobras currently sit fourth on the ladder on percentage with 10 wins and six losses.