With a win over Wichita Falls on Tuesday, the Ryan Lady Raiders’ season completely changed.

Instead of hoping the Lady Coyotes stumble to have a shot at the District 5-4A title, the Lady Raiders are tied for first place with Wichita Falls with four games left on their schedule.

“It was very exciting,” said Ryan head coach Monesha Allen of Ryan’s road win. “It was exciting for the coaching staff as well. It was emotional losing here at home [against Wichita Falls on Dec. 18]. Our goal was to not lose at home, especially in district. It was very upsetting that we weren’t able to keep that goal.”

Ryan can’t let up, though, as Wichita Falls has only three games left. If both teams win out, they’ll finish in a tie for first and the two coaches will decide whether to break it with a coin flip or a playoff game.

But Allen knows talk of how to break a tie is irrelevant if Ryan doesn’t win its remaining games.

“It’s a little bit early,” Allen said. “I don’t want to jinx myself and start talking about what I’m going to do.”

The Lady Raiders made a small defensive adjustment against Wichita Falls that helped them this time around. In the previous game, Wichita Falls forward Janette Merriex had 26 points and got to the free-throw line excessively. In Tuesday’s game, Merriex had only 11 points and Ryan was able to limit the number of times Wichita Falls made it to the line. Ryan lost in the final minutes of the first game, but was in control throughout the second game.

“We went back as a coaching staff and we were upset with some things,” Allen said. “We tried to figure out what we could do to ensure us a win. We knew we could beat them. Defensively, we put some speed in the middle of the zone. It worked. Obviously, we were successful with that and happy with the results.”

Ryan doesn’t have it easy the rest of the way. The Lady Raiders still have to play Sherman, Denton, Guyer and Denison. Sherman was a playoff team last year. Denton gave Ryan its toughest game outside of Wichita Falls. Guyer is currently in third place in 5-4A.

“We’ve had too many close games not to stay focused,” Allen said. “It’s just reminding them what we have to do to be successful. We know at any given time anyone can get beat. I try to preach that and just stay on the positive side.”

Boys basketball

Ryan plays better in second bout with Coyotes

Ryan couldn’t pull the upset over district-leading Wichita Falls on Tuesday, but the solid performance against a state power shows how far the Raiders have come since the first game on Dec. 18.

Although they played statistically better in the first game, the Raiders never had much of a chance to win in a 71-56 loss to open district play. Ryan was within a point of the Coyotes late in the fourth quarter in Tuesday’s 60-47 loss.

“We’ve gained a lot of ground since the first game,” said Ryan head coach Bryce Overstreet. “The fact we had an opportunity within the last three minutes of the game to win it, we’ve made progress.”

Raiders have work cut out against Sherman

The Raiders may face their toughest district test of the year by playing Sherman on the road at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Sherman has arguably the best home-court advantage in the district and is a consistent playoff contender.

Ryan almost pulled the upset over the Bearcats when the two teams first met on Jan. 1. Sherman pulled away for a 50-44 win, but with the success they had last time, Overstreet doesn’t think the Raiders will play them much different.

“The game plan still stays the same,” Overstreet said. “They’ve got a great player in Brad Hambrick that we’re going to have to contain, and we’re going to have to handle their pressure. They play very, very physical man-to-man defense. Sherman is a tough place to play. They always have a good following. They’ll have a rowdy crowd there.”

Garrett, Webb stepping up

Overstreet praised guard Chaz Garrett and forward Clayton Webb for their improvement during the past month. Garrett has given the Raiders another shooter on the outside and Webb has become a force on the inside and is Ryan’s tallest player at 6-4.

“They’ve really, really played well,” Overstreet said. “Chaz adds another outside threat. Clayton has really come along on the interior. They’ve played hard and aggressive. Both of those guys have made big contributions.”

Boys soccer

Lamon to name starting goalie by Tuesday

Ryan head coach Bob Lamon hopes to name a starting goalkeeper for district play after the Raiders’ pre-district finale against Burkburnett on Friday.

Lamon has been rotating Juan Bernardino and Jose Gonzales during pre-district play, and while both have been good, Lamon would like to have one starting goalie.

“They’re doing well,” Lamon said. “They performed really well against Grapevine. Jose gave up both goals Friday [against Frisco Centennial] but they were both point-blank. It was more of a breakdown in the defense than the goalie’s fault. It’s going to be difficult for me to name a No. 1 goalkeeper because they’ve played so well.”

Brown impressing Lamon

Sophomore Tanner Brown has caught the eye of Lamon with his outstanding play.

The midfielder has been great for the Raiders in transition and worked well with captain Anthony Juarez.

“He’s really played simple and quick in the middle,” Lamon said. “He helps us improve our possession and complemented some of the older guys.”

Girls soccer

Offense progressing for Lady Raiders

Ryan head coach Raiford Malone is pleased with his offense’s development after the team switched from a 4-4-2 alignment to a 4-3-3 in an attempt to score more goals.

Ryan showed more than a little progress on Tuesday when the Lady Raiders lit up Little Elm for four goals in the first half en route to a 5-1 win. Malone hopes they can show even more improvement against Texas High on Friday in Ryan’s last game before district play begins.

“They’re doing what I expected,” Malone said. “They’re creating a lot of opportunities. We’re not putting everything away, but you’re not going to shoot 100 percent. As many opportunities as we have been creating, I’d like to see us finish a few more of them. Hopefully by next week, we’ll be a little more efficient as far as that goes.”

Hebron tourney produces mixed results

The Lady Raiders faced tough competition in the Hebron Hawks tournament over the weekend and left with some losses.

Ryan opened the tournament with a 5-0 lost to powerhouse Hebron and closed it with a 4-1 loss to Class 5A Hurst L.D. Bell. Ryan’s only win was 3-0 against the Home School Soccer Association.

Malone was disappointed Ryan couldn’t close out in the second half better in the tournament.

“We’ve let a couple slip away that we shouldn’t have, especially in that Hebron tournament,” Malone said. “I would have liked to see us finish it stronger than we did. In the last game [against L.D. Bell], we didn’t put our best effort out there. That was disappointing because we’d be playing pretty well. To end the tournament on a bad note wasn’t a good sign.”

Baseball

Slivocka wins award

Ryan assistant coach Kris Slivocka was honored at the recent Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association state convention in Waco.

Slivocka was named the Class 4A Assistant Coach of the Year at the event after one of Ryan’s most successful seasons.

Slivocka helped guide Ryan to the District 5-4A title in 2007 as the Raiders made it to the regional quarterfinals.

Player of the Week

Ryan guard De’Amber Wilhite started the season well, but may finish it even better.

The freshman led the Lady Raiders to two important victories last week. She scored 24 in Ryan’s road win over Wichita Falls Rider and was stellar on offense and defense in Ryan’s win over Wichita Falls, which put the Lady Raiders back in the hunt for the District 5-4A title.

For her efforts, Wilhite is the Denton Record-Chronicle Ryan Player of the Week.

JEFF ANDREWS can be reached at 940-566-6873. His e-mail address is jandrews@dentonrc.com .