Lady Raiders dominate at West Plains, Randall boys fall short

Friday night at West Plains turned into a split decision on the scoreboard but a revealing one for Randall basketball, with the Lady Raiders taking care of business and the boys running into a buzzsaw against one of the district’s top teams. Taken together, the night showed both where Randall is right now and where it’s headed as District 4-4A play continues.

Girls game

Three days after running into a Canyon team that currently sits atop the district and near the top of the state rankings, Randall’s girls faced another Canyon ISD opponent with real stakes attached. A trip to West Plains is never comfortable, especially when both teams are jockeying for position, but the Lady Raiders responded the way good teams tend to do after a disappointing loss. They steadied themselves early, never trailed, and pulled away for a convincing 51-29 win.

From the opening minutes, Randall looked sharper and more purposeful than it had earlier in the week. The Lady Raiders spread the scoring around immediately, getting contributions from six players in the first quarter alone. That balance fueled a 20-8 lead after one period and made it clear that West Plains would have to defend the entire floor. By halftime, Randall’s defense was doing just as much damage, holding the Lady Wolves to four made field goals and building a 28-12 cushion.

Offensively, no single player dominated the box score, which was very much the point. All 10 Lady Raiders who suited up found their way into the scoring column, with Alaina Garcia leading the way at 10 points. The ball moved well, possessions were more deliberate, and shots came within the flow of the offense rather than out of necessity. Against a West Plains team that was also trying to climb the district ladder, that kind of collective approach proved decisive.

The second half followed a similar script. West Plains struggled to establish rhythm, and although Dakota Montoya provided a spark off the bench with three second-half 3-pointers, Randall was never seriously threatened. The Lady Raiders stretched the lead to as many as 25 and used the opportunity to give significant minutes to their younger players. There were moments of freshman inconsistency, particularly against pressure, but there was also visible improvement after halftime. For a team without a single senior, that growth may matter just as much as the win itself. The result left Randall tied for second place in the district as the first round of play nears its end, very much in the mix and trending forward.

Boys game

The nightcap carried a different tone. With both West Plains and Randall entering tied near the top of the boys district standings, the matchup would determine which Canyon ISD school walked away alone in first place. On paper and on the court, West Plains looked the part.

The Wolves, ranked No. 17 in Class 4A, asserted control early and never truly let it go in a 65-53 win. Their execution was composed, especially for a rivalry game, and they handled Randall’s defensive looks with patience. A 34-21 halftime lead told most of the story, driven largely by senior Ayden Larra, who matched Randall’s entire first-half output by himself behind five 3-pointers.

Even when Larra cooled off after the break, West Plains didn’t. Sophomore Beckett Jones picked up the scoring load, pouring in 17 of his 19 points in the second half and effectively ending any hopes of a sustained Randall comeback. The Wolves pushed the margin to 21 before a late Raider run made the final score more respectable than the flow of the game suggested. Kaden Hooker added 10 points, underscoring the depth that makes West Plains so dangerous.

Randall, meanwhile, was coming off an emotional win over Canyon earlier in the week and couldn’t quite summon that same energy again. The Raiders fought, but the combination of back-to-back elite opponents proved to be a tall order. Eddie Cruz led Randall with 14 points and Braylon Thompson added 12, but the consistency wasn’t there for a full four quarters.

In the end, the contrast between the two games was telling. Randall’s girls showed composure, balance, and growth. The boys ran into a polished, state-caliber team and learned where the bar is. Both outcomes, in their own way, fit neatly into a long district season still very much in progress.