RUN IT BACK: Lady Raiders eye national title for 2024-25

With a dozen players back from last season’s 29-8 squad which reached the quarterfinals of the NJCAA tournament in Casper, Wyoming, the Three Rivers College women’s basketball team has one goal for the upcoming season — a national championship.

“We have probably the most returners out of any college — not junior college — any college program in the country,” TRC coach Alex Wiggs said. “You just don’t have 12 returners coming back anymore because of the transfer portal and stuff like that. So the girls all got together and decided that they enjoyed making it to the elite eight but also they hated that feeling of losing in the elite eight. They want to come in, put the work in and see if it gives us another opportunity to go do it again.”

Included on that list of returnees for the Lady Raiders are first-team all-Midwest Community College Athletic Conference selections Kaleigh “KT” Thompson and Lexie Weaver, plus second-team all-MCCAC picks Laylah Reese and Jasmine Davis.

But even with so many players back, Three Rivers still had some holes to fill from last season. Joining the roster for 2024-25 are Courtney Bluitt, a 5-8 guard from Red Oak, Texas; Jessica Weston, a 5-8 guard from Australia; Emma Toombs, a 5-11 Australian who is transferring from Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kansas; and Caitlin Lord, a 6-2 Australian who played at national tournament qualifier Eastern Florida State last season.

“With those four, we think that they definitely add to our depth and to the areas that we’re needing to get stronger to continue to compete at a national level,” Wiggs said, “and hopefully make it back to Casper.”

TRC assistant coach Caleb Livingston echoes Wiggs’ sentiments.

“I think as a group, the four of them bring something different than what we’ve already had,” Livingston said. “When we talk about building a team and roster, you’re trying to put a puzzle together. People will say it’s a weakness that we didn’t shoot the 3 ball consistently throughout the year. … We saw that as ‘Hey, how can we continue to get better?’

“And I think we addressed it with this class. But we also challenged our kids coming back to become better shooters as well — and they’ve worked extremely hard in the offseason at doing that.”

Bluitt was the Defensive Player of the Year in District 14-5A as a junior in 2022-23, then earned Offensive Player of the Year in that district this past season.

“She comes from a great program and a great area for women’s basketball,” Wiggs said. “You don’t win Defensive and Offensive Player of the Year in her league by accident. That has us really excited for her ability to score and to guard.”

On top of that, Bluitt played for one of the top AAU programs in the country when she wasn’t on the high school hardwood.

“She’s not going to be intimidated by anything coming in here,” Livingston said.

Meanwhile, Weston also made a great impression on Wiggs.

“She can really, really shoot it and she’s crafty with the ball. Her ability to get by somebody and make the right play brings a lot to this team — (as does) her versatility.”

While at Barton, Toombs played in one of the top junior college conferences in the country, the Jayhawk Conference, which was home to undefeated national champion Hutchinson.

Wiggs said he is pleased to add Toombs’ shooting ability and size to the Lady Raiders’ roster.

“Her ability to to play off the dribble, to shoot it and to extend the floor — and at her size — are going to be a good addition to the puzzle that we’re putting together for this season.”

Meanwhile, Lord played behind Kentucky signee Amelia Hassett last season at Eastern Florida State.

“Caitlin’s ability to not only post up — she’s got solid back-to-the-basket moves, she can rip and attack and she can shoot the 3 — makes her hard to guard from that and puts teams in tough positions on how are they going to guard her?” Wiggs said. “How are they going to play her?

Even though it’s a comparatively small recruiting class in numbers, the coaches are confident in what the quartet will bring to the Lady Raiders next season.

“I feel like we added pieces that are different than what we’ve got, and that will be fun to see how it all meshes together,” Livingston said.

Three Rivers also has a rugged schedule which will provide several good tests next season. In addition to taking on Region 16 foes like Mineral Area, Moberly and State Fair, the Lady Raiders will face Wabash Valley, Olney Central, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Vincennes and national tournament qualifier Shelton State — all before Thanksgiving.

“We’re definitely excited about the teams and and getting challenged,” Wiggs said. “That’s what it’s about — you’ve got to get out there and play people. I think that gets you ready for region play and then that gets you ready for postseason play, if you’re lucky enough and/or good enough to make it to that time.”

TRC then heads back to Texas over Thanksgiving weekend to again compete in a tournament at Trinity Valley, then heads to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in December to take on Shelton State and Pearl River in a tournament. January features Region 16 competition and a trip to southern Illinois to take on Wabash Valley.

“We have a lot of returners and so we need to get tested,” Wiggs said. “We need to make sure that we’re staying with the process and continuing what we want to accomplish at the end of the year. And the only way you do that is get out there and play national tournament teams and see where you stack up.”