Lady Rebels stay cool under pressure, win 58-30

The Lady Rebels triumphed over Fort Washakie on Saturday, 58-30. Brooklynn Paxton and Johnna Clifford led the Rebels in scoring with 26 and 13 points, respectively, with Clifford playing a strong, aggressive style of ball that took her to the free throw line 12 times over the course of the game.
Their propulsive efforts were aided by Vinaya Vanderploeg, of whom Coach Jason Mitchell remarked, “She’s one of the best on-ball defenders I’ve seen in small school girls’ basketball and often the spark that leads to transition baskets for her teammates.”
Kennedy Bassett continued honing her skills as a varsity player as well, scoring 9 points. “[Bassett’s] energy, effort, and quickness don’t always show up on the stat sheet,” said Mitchell, “but are a huge part of any success we have.”
Another highlight of the weekend was getting in two quarters of JV against Ft. Washakie. Daya Olson, a freshman, did “really well” during her first extended bit of play, according to Mitchell.
“We still need to work on keeping the other team off the glass,” he acknowledges, “but a lot of rebounding comes down to effort. We had two girls with double-digit rebounds: Brooklynn had 16 and Varissa Olsen had 10.”
Mitchell hopes to dial in his team’s defensive rebounding, and parlay their existing skills and talents into more wins like Saturday’s.
The Lady Rebels will play again this weekend in Powell and Cowley at the Big Horn Basin Classic.

Ft. Washakie:  7  4  13  6  —  30
Riverside:  21  10  12  15  —  58
RIVERSIDE — Kennedy Bassett 4-7 0-0 9; Anna Stone 0-2 0-0 0; Brooklynn Paxton 13-20 0-4 26; Johnna Clifford 4-10 5-12 13; Daya Olson 0-1 0-0 0; Vinaya Vanderploeg 1-7 0-0 2; Varissa Olsen 3-9 0-0 6; Ada Pratt 1-6 0-0 2; Totals 26-of-62 5-of-16 58.
3-POINT GOALS — Bassett 1, Stone, Vanderploeg, Pratt. REBOUNDS — Riverside 41 (Paxton 16). STEALS — Riverside 17 (Paxton 7). ASSISTS — Riverside 10 (Stone, Clifford, Vanderploeg 3). TURNOVERS — Riverside 15.