The Ransom Everglades Raiders started off the 2020-2021 season Monday night in the Henry H. Anderson ‘38 Gymnasium with an emphatic 47-19 victory over the visiting Immaculata-LaSalle Royals. The Raiders were led by Elanah Arnold ‘21 with 12 points, with nine players scoring in the contest.  

Arnold raised RE’s energy early in the first quarter with a shifty euro-step that put the Raiders up 7-2. The energy carried over to the other side of the court on defense, with RE only allowing two more points in the first quarter. By the end of the first quarter, the Raiders had extended their lead to 15-4.  

RE came out of the quarter break sluggishly on offense, but the Raiders’ lockdown defense eventually led to a series of steals and subsequent fast breaks, giving RE the offensive spark it was seeking. With three minutes left in the second quarter, the Raiders started to catch fire from beyond the three-point line, with threes made by both Arnold and Rylie Love ‘21. A great defensive performance in the second quarter held the LaSalle Royals to only six points at the end of the half, while RE more than doubled its points and expanded its lead to 32-6.  

“We made it a priority to not let the other team get offensive rebounds because that was the only chance that they had to beat us,” said Arnold. “We forced a lot of turnovers and got a ton of points on transition, which definitely helped us out early in the game to catch the early lead.” 

The start of the third quarter echoed the same energy in the first half, with Arnold drawing a foul off a fast break and getting an and-one. After that, the Raiders made multiple three-pointers, further extending their lead to 46-11 at the end of the quarter. 

“I thought it was a really good first game. The best part of the game was our defense. We didn’t even have to run plays, we just got fast breaks and scored off those,” said Cami Lindsey ‘21.  

RE’s dominance throughout the game seemed to dwindle in the final quarter. The period started off with back-to-back turnovers from RE, resulting in made baskets for the Royals. The Raiders only scored one point in the fourth quarter off a free throw. LaSalle started to score more points off RE turnovers and offensive rebounds, and they scored the most points of any period (eight) in the fourth quarter. However, the large lead the Raiders had built throughout the game persevered, and Ransom Everglades was victorious with a final score of 47-19.  

“Our win tonight came solely from the defensive side leading to transition points,” said Arnold.  

The Raiders start the season with a 1-0 record and will look to carry this momentum into their Wednesday road matchup against the Florida Christian Patriots.