SIDNEY — The Cheyenne East Thunderbirds erased an 11-point second-half deficit and edged the Sidney Lady Raiders 46-45 in a tightly contested girls basketball game Tuesday night at the Cabela’s Athletic Facility.

Sidney entered the contest unbeaten at 4-0 and opened strong, scoring eight of its 14 first-quarter points at the free-throw line to take a 14-10 lead after one period. Cheyenne East answered in the second quarter, rallying to tie the game at 17-17 before the Lady Raiders closed the half on a 7-0 run to carry a 24-17 advantage into the break.

The Lady Raiders maintained control early in the second half, opening with a 7-3 run to build a 31-20 lead with 4:18 remaining in the third quarter. Sidney still led 35-30 heading into the final period.
East’s full-court pressure proved decisive down the stretch. Cashlynn Haws knocked down a three-pointer with 3:13 remaining to give the Thunderbirds a 42-39 lead. Sidney responded, tying the game at 42-42 with 51.5 seconds left, but Cheyenne East converted four of six free throws in the final seconds to regain a 46-42 lead.

A half-court three at the buzzer by Khloe Schrader brought Sidney within one, but time expired with East securing the 46-45 win. Khloe Schrader led Sidney with 12 points. Jordyn Schnell and Reagan Nesbitt added nine points each, with Nesbitt also pulling down 10 rebounds. Emmalee Phelps and Cashlynn Haws paced Cheyenne East with 10 points apiece.

In the boys game, Cheyenne East used balanced scoring and depth to pull away for a 70-52 victory over the Sidney Red Raiders.

The Thunderbirds led 15-13 after the first quarter, fueled by eight early points from junior Sadell Johnson. Sidney’s Kale Kaiser scored nine points in the second quarter to keep the Red Raiders within striking distance, but Johnson continued his hot shooting, hitting two more three-pointers to help East take a 35-24 lead at halftime.

Cheyenne East steadily increased its advantage in the third quarter, outscoring Sidney 20-13 to open a 55-37 lead entering the final period. East finished with 10 players scoring in the win.
Kaiser led Sidney with 20 points, while Kash Knobbe added nine. Johnson paced the Thunderbirds with 25 points.

Sidney returns to action Friday when the teams travel to Torrington to face the Trailblazers. The girls varsity game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., followed by the boys game at 7 p.m. Games will air live on 1340 AM/95.7 FM Cheyenne County Country, streamed on thebigboy987.com, and on the News Channel Nebraska app.