By Brad Greer

Unlike the first meeting  on  Dec. 4 that resulted in a 44-43 overtime victory, Kirk’s Lady Raiders made sure their rematch with North Delta Thursday would not be as close.

Led by Beth Tillman’s 16 points, the visiting Raiders jumped  to an 11-1 lead after one quarter in route to a 41-27 win to close out District 1-AA regular season play.

With the win, Kirk raised its record to 20-7 and 6-2 in district while North Delta fell to 2-6 and 14-13 overall.

The Raiders quickly led 9-0 with 1:21 remaining in the first period before Charla Shea Darby got the Lady Wave on the board with a free throw that stemmed from a technical foul called on a Kirk player.

Tillman’s three-pointer from the top of the key extended the Lady Raider lead to 16-5 before Claire Gant’s basket, followed by a three-point play from Julianna Morrow, cut the margin to 18-10 at intermission.

Kirk took control of the contest  by holding North Delta to one field goal in the third quarter while extending their lead to 32-14 on a pair of three-point plays by Beth Box and Lauren Snyder.

The Lady Raiders connected on 16-of-43 shots from the floor while holding North Delta to only 42 percent (10-of-24) field goal.

Jordan Pullen led Lady Waves with five points, all of which came in the fourth quarter. Hastings Neal and Gant followed with four points while Morrow, Anna Lloyd and eighth-grader Janie Brasell registered three points.

Erin Snider and Sarah Johnson chipped in with two points while Darby supplied one point.

North Delta (boys) – 48, Kirk- 28

Led by Hunt Howell’s 21 points, the  North Delta boys squad evened their district record at 4-4 by doubling up the Raiders in the nightcap.

Jonathan Mackey added 14 points to go along with five steals as the Green Wave upped its overall record to 8-13 on the season.

North Delta took a slim 22-20 lead into the lockerroom before outscoring the Raiders 26-8 in the second half.

Howell held the hot hand as the senior scored all 10 of the Green Wave points in the third quarter including a pair of trey’s from the left corner.

North Delta built a 32-24 advantage after three quarters of play before outscoring Kirk 16-4 in the final period.

Will Hartzell knocked down a pair of treys on his way to eight fourth quarter points. The sophomore also dished out five assists to lead the team.

The Green Wave looked to make a easy night of it as they led 16-5 after one quarter only to have Kirk storm back in the second period by going on a 15-4 run to tie the contest at 20 with under a minute remaining in the half.

Tyler Beard added three points in the winning effort while Renic Greenlee had two. Tylor Lee pulled down six rebounds while Sam Copeland had three blocked shots.

Jr. High

Kirk and North Delta split the junior high games as the Raiders took a 54-48 win in the boys game while the Lady Green Wave squeaked past Kirk 30-28.

North Delta followed Thursday’s games by traveling to Pillow Friday where they lost both varsity contests.

The Lady Waves fell 43-26 despite 15 points from Darby. Neal added five points while Lloyd accounted for two. Courtney DuBravec chipped in with one point.

North Delta boys also took it on the chin by dropping a 52-38 decision. Beard led the way with nine points and four steals while Howell had eight points and six rebounds. Hartzell and Greenlee registered five each while Bailey Sullivant and Mackey finished with three and two points each.