Riverside Lady Rebels #2 in 1A Northwest

The Riverside Lady Rebels lost their final conference game against the Burlington Lady Huskies on Friday, Feb. 21, but they’re still in a good position going into this weekend’s Class 1A West Regional as the No. 2 seed from the Northwest.

The Lady Huskies made the first basket of the game, a 3 pointer, but Johnna Clifford was able to quickly get down court and make a lay-up.  The end of the first quarter had the Rebels down by five, 15-10.

Coach Jason Mitchell commented, “I thought we played a good basketball game on Friday night. We just didn’t sustain it for four quarters.  In the fourth quarter, we tried to force plays rather than allowing the flow of the game to find us scoring opportunities.”

At halftime, Riverside trailed by two.  By early in the third, the teams were tied at 24 apiece.  A Burlington basket made it 26-24, but a Kennedy Bassett 3-pointer gave Riverside a 27-26 lead, which they carried into the start of the fourth quarter, 34-32. In the end, the Huskies prevailed.

 “Vinaya’s 12 points, including going 2 of 3 from the 3-point line, provided a huge boost for us,” said Mitchell. “Hopefully, that fourth quarter provided a stern reminder about the importance of boxing out, especially against opponents who are outstanding rebounders.  I believe the Burlington game gave us a great glimpse into the physicality that we will see every game from here on out.  I thought we handled it well.”

The Rebels will play their first game of the Class 1A West Regional today at 12:30 p.m.

RIVERSIDE: Kennedy Bassett: 1-6 1-2 4  Vinaya VanderPloeg: 5-11 0-0 12  Brooklynn Paxton: 4-7 4-9 12  Johnna Clifford: 4-13 1-4 9