A solid foundation of young, talented players appears to be in place for the Ryan Lady Raiders. 

The Lady Raiders captured a championship Sunday in the 11th and 12th grade Red Division of the Denton Summer Shootout with a 57-46 win over the OK Lady Vols at Billy Ryan Gym.

De’Amber Wilhite

Ryan sophomore De’Amber Wilhite led a second-half rally and scored a game-high 25 points to give the Lady Raiders their sixth win of the Shootout and an undefeated record.

“It feels good, the first time winning is always good,” Wilhite said.

Wilhite, the DentonRecord-Chronicle’s Newcomer of the Year in 2007-08, scored nearly 16 points per game while helping Ryan win the District 5-4A title during the season. She provided the spark that allowed the Lady Raiders to erase an 11-point deficit early in the game.

Domineak Darrough

Ryan junior Domineak Darrough also provided a lift, commanding the low post and securing rebounds while scoring 14 points. Keisha Blanson scored 10 points as the Lady Raiders had three players score in double figures.

Guards Emily Paramore and Sarah Middleton also played key roles in the Lady Raiders’ championship win.

The OK Lady Vols, comprised mostly of players from the Tulsa, Okla. area, raced out to an early advantage and had their largest lead of the game at 19-8 with about 10 minutes remaining in the first half.

The Lady Raiders cut their deficit to five by halftime and opened up their offense in the second half.

Wilhite brought the Lady Raiders to within one point five minutes into the second half, and Darrough gave them the lead at 30-29 on a put-back layup off an offensive rebound.

Wilhite secured the Lady Raiders’ victory and championship when she stole the ball at midcourt and drove to the basket for an easy layup that gave the team a seven-point lead with less than two minutes to play.

The victory marked the second of the day for the Lady Raiders, who defeated the Wichita Falls Storm, 40-36, in the semifinal round. The Lady Raiders cruised past their first-round opponent, MO Ballers, winning 60-21 on Saturday.

Eight teams divided into two pools comprised the Red Division in the girls 11th and 12th grade group. A Blue Division featured 15 teams. 

The Lady Raiders earned the top seed in Pool A for bracket play by posting a 3-0 record.

Basketball bombardment

About 200 teams came to the Denton area to participate in the Shootout. The event staged games at various schools, including Ryan, Denton and Guyer.

Argyle hosted the 11th and 12th grade boys division, and Ponder hosted the ninth and 10th grade boys division.

The Shootout, in its 10th year, featured seven grade divisions for both boys and girls, and the tournament is part of the Mid America Youth Basketball program.

Krum girls make Shootout appearance

Several players from the Krum girls basketball team participated on the North Texas Dreams of the girls 11th and 12th grade Blue Division.

Katy Dodd, Kirsti Degelia, Erin Dickerson and Emily Olsen played in the Shootout. Degelia was a first-team Denton Record-Chronicle All-Area selection last season, averaging 12.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and three steals for a Krum team that advanced to the Class 2A Region II finals.

The North Texas Dreams competed in Pool A and posted a 2-2 record heading into bracket play. They faced the OK Blue Devils in the first round and lost 47-30 for an early exit in the Shootout.

BRAD McDONNELL can be reached at 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is bmcdonnell@dentonrc.com .