Lady Rebels fall to Burlington

Finish No. 2 in conference

The Riverside Lady Rebels fell to Burlington 51-30 in their final conference game of the season. The JV Lady Rebels also fell to Ten Sleep’s varsity team, 26-15, on Friday, in a match up arranged for conference rankings.

Against Burlington, the varsity girls rallied after a slow start, narrowing the scoring gap in the second quarter to just seven points at the half, but it was not to be. Burlington came back harder in the second half with 19 points in the third to Riverside’s eight and another 10 in the fourth. 

“It was another tough one against Burlington,” Coach Jason Mitchell remarked. “They’re a quality team and we weren’t ready for the moment.”

Johnna Clifford led the Lady Rebels in scoring against Burlington with seven points while Vinaya Vanderploeg and Varissa Olsen each netted six, and Ada Pratt notched five. While her scoring power was less due to Burlington’s defense, Brooklynn Paxton delivered 10 rebounds, six steals, and three assists overall.

With these two games, conference play is officially wrapped: the Lady Rebels placed second in the 1A Northwest. Coach Mitchell and the Lady Rebels have now turned their attention toward regionals, which begin today in Lander.

“We’re excited,” said Mitchell. “As with any team, regardless of seed, you really can’t give too much attention to potential opponents beyond your first-round matchup.” 

For the Lady Rebels, this will be Encampment, the No. 3 seed from the Southwest.

“We’ve watched a little bit of film on Encampment,” Mitchell continued, “and will continue to be the best version of ourselves this weekend.”

Tip-off against Encampment is at 4 p.m. in the auxiliary gymnasium at the regional tournament.

Burlington 15 7 19 10 51

Riverside 5 10 8   7 30

RIVERSIDE — Kennedy Bassett 1-3 0-0 3; Brooklynn Paxton 1-5 1-2 3; Johnna Clifford 2-7 2-6 7; Vinaya Vanderploeg 3-9 0-0 6; Varissa Olsen 2-6 2-6 6; Ada Pratt 2-10 1-3 5; Totals 11-of-40 6-of-17 30. 

3-POINTERS — Bassett, Clifford 1. REBOUNDS — Riverside 30 (Paxton 10). ASSISTS — Riverside 8 (Paxton 3). STEALS — Riverside 13 (Paxton 6). TURNOVERS — Riverside 34.