Pierce Basketball: Lady Raiders Place Fourth in Thanksgiving Tournament

Editor's Note: Jenee James, assistant coach for the Pierce College Lady Raiders, submitted the information to Patch.

Kawehi Hagi scored a game-high 29 points, collected six steals and four rebounds against the Panthers of Portland Community College, helping the Lady Raiders place fourth in the Clackamas Community College Thanksgiving Tournament this past weekend with a 93-57 victory.

After dropping the opening game to the Umpqua Riverhawks 84-66, the Raiders bounced back by winning the next two games by 37 and 52 points, respectively. In the consolation championship against the Panthers, teammate Taylor Riley of Kent notched a double-double with 15 points, 20 rebounds, five steals and three assists. Unique Taufa’asau contributed 17 points by shooting 6-for-10 from the field. Also contributing to this balanced scoring effort was Natasha Trinidad who added eight points, seven rebounds, and five steals.

The Lady Raiders currently have a 3-1 overall record in the West Region of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges.

After a sluggish start to kickoff the Thanksgiving tournament, the Raiders proved their scoring ability and beat Olympic Community College by shooting an impressive 47 percent from the field. The Raiders’ fast-paced offense and in-your-face defense was too much for the Rangers to handle. The Raiders forced 40 Ranger turnovers to hold on for the commanding victory.

The Raiders host the Everett Trojans (1-2) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Health Education Center at the Fort Steilacoom campus in the team’s opening divisional game.

Lady Raiders kick off season with victory

In Lady Raiders' first contest of the season, Pierce's Natasha Trinidad scored a game-high 21 points, grabbed six rebounds, recorded six steals and four assists on the road to beat the Edmonds Tritons 86-40.

The Raiders were fueled by five starters in double digits with a balanced scoring attack. Defensively, Pierce held their opponent to 26 percent (16-for-61) from the field. The Raiders powered through the first half outscoring the Tritons 51-18 proving to be more athletic and agile than their opponent.