The Midway Lady Raiders hosted Pender Tuesday night in need of a victory. They jumped out to an early lead and coasted to a 53-32 win. The win gave Midway a much needed fifth victory on the season and put a halt to their four-game losing skid.

The home team got off to a strong start and led 15-3 following the opening period. They matched their first quarter scoring in the second and posted a 30-9 lead at intermission.

In the third period, the visitors could only knock 1 point off the Raider lead and trailed 40-20 with eight minutes left to play. As the game came to a close, the Lady Raiders matched their 21-point halftime lead with a final score of 53-32.

Kaitlyn Jackson led the balanced scoring for Midway with 12 points. Jada Cannady connected for 8. Hannah Hubbard and Tess Williams contributed 6 points each. Brianna Butler and Chakerria Rhodes added 5 a piece. Elizabeth McCullen scored 4 points to go with 7 assists. Amber Poole nailed 3 free throws. Jennifer Blackmon and Haley Beasley had 2 points a piece.

In rebounding, Blackmon snagged 14 boards while Jackson pulled down 12. Hubbard had 9 and Williams claimed 7. Cannady and Butler grabbed 6 each.

“In the first half our defense played extremely well,” asserted Midway coach Jennifer Honeycutt. “And that turned into great offense. It was balanced scoring and everybody scored tonight. We had 15 assists tonight. That was unselfish play.”

The Lady Raiders improve to 5-15 overall and 4-8 in the Tri-County Conference. They will travel to James Kenan on Friday. Next Tuesday they will return home to observe Senior Night versus Union.