Roseville Raiders Girls Basketball looks to stay unbeaten as they host holiday tournament at RAHS

Roseville's girls basketball team has stormed to a perfect 7-0 so far this season, and they have plenty of competition coming to their gym this week to test their mettle.

"We are hoping to play well in the next three games and play in our championship game on Friday," Raiders coach Jeff Crosby said. 

The Raiders will host their own holiday basketball tournament, which begins on Wednesday. Six of the eight teams in the tournament have winning records, and that includes a defending state champion from Wisconsin, Eau Claire Regis, and Vanderbilt University recruit Heather Bowe.

The Ramblers (5-1, 4-0) have started strong with their five wins coming by an average of 37 points. Their lone loss came 86-70 to Bloomington Kennedy, which has Division I Ken State recruit Heather Bachman.

The Raiders have beaten ranked teams already this season. They edged White Bear Lake 55-53 in overtime on Dec. 9. The Bears, once ranked No. 7 in the state, have Division I Illinois State recruit Alexis Foley on their squad.

"We have had  three big challenges in front of us this year," Crosby said. "WBL has been to the state tournament the last 2-3 years and have won our conference. We then beat a big and strong Forest Lake team by 10 up at their place, and last week we played Centennial in a non-conference game by nine at home."  

Besides those wins, the Raiders have won by comfortable margins in most of their games - 16.7 points. Only WBL and Centennial came within 10 points of the silver-and-black. The Raiders beat the Cougars 61-52 in their final game before Christmas on Dec. 22.

"This was a big win as they are a section opponent and this will help with section seeding," Crosby said.

The win streak has positioned the Raiders at No. 8 in the most recent Class 4A girls basketball poll. Jaqlyn Poss has led the charge on offense for the Raiders with 18.9 points per game. Emma Schaefer averages 11.9 points per game, and Larissa Graham adds 10.3 a night.

"We are hoping to continue to play well but our bench is hurt," Crosby said. "Sophomore guard Maria Ascher is out another five weeks with a back issue and Junior Maggie Benson is out 1-2 weeks with a rolled ankle." 

If the Raiders do face Regis in the tournament finals, Bowe could give the Raiders a challenge as she averages 21.5 points per game. She also can crash the boards as she average 8.6 rebounds per night last season.  

The Raiders first have to tackle Minneapolis Southwest (3-6, 2-1) when they open tournament play on Wednesday night. The Millers have struggled at the start of the season, but they have a two-game winning streak going into the tournament.

"I feel to sustain what we have done so far, we will need to stay healthy with the rest of our kids and get those 2 injured girls back," Crosby said.

The rest of the tournament field consists of teams with winning records except for the Millers and Burnsville (2-3, 0-2). Buffalo has started the season strong at 7-1 overall. Saint Anthony Village (6-2, 4-0), Spring Lake Park (4-3, 2-0) and Andover (5-3, 3-3) all come into the tournament with winning records.

ROSEVILLE TOURNAMENT MATCHUPS

Quarterfinals - Wednesday

Eau Claire (Wis.) Regis vs. Saint Anthony Village, 2:45 p.m.

Buffalo vs. Andover, 4:30 p.m.

Spring Lake Park vs. Burnsville, 6:15 p.m.

Minneapolis Southwest vs. Roseville, 8 p.m.

Semifinals - Thursday

Regis/St. Anthony vs. Buffalo/Andover, 6:15 p.m.

SLP/Burnsville vs. Mpls. SW/Roseville, 8 p.m.

Consolation Games - 2:45 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Finals - Friday

Semifinal Winners, 8 p.m.

Thrid Place Game, 4:30 p.m.