Defending champs pull away in 2nd to drop Lady Pioneers
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But after standing toe-to-toe with the defending state champions for much of the first half, Riverdale proved to be just too strong, and was able to steadily build its lead on the way to a 66-40 victory.
With the loss, WCHS fell to 6-8 on the year and 1-3 in District 7-AAA play, while Riverdale improved to 11-3 overall, winning its ninth straight, and upped its perfect district mark to 4-0.
Although the eventual final margin was decidedly in Riverdale’s favor, the Lady Pioneers had their guests on the ropes early in Friday’s contest.
After a five-point run gave Riverdale an early lead, the Lady Pioneers bounced back behind a combination of inside muscle and perimeter accuracy, scoring seven unanswered points to take back the lead.
Riverdale answered by turning to Clarke Davis, who scored 10 of her game-high 23 points in the first quarter. Her layup off a midcourt steal with 22 seconds to play gave the lead to the Lady Warriors for good, and Natalie Lanning knocked down a 3-pointer to end the first quarter with RHS on top 16-12.
An 11-2 Riverdale scoring run, featuring 3-pointers from Lanning and Morgann Swoape, opened the second quarter. But the Lady Pioneers turned up the heat from the perimeter themselves, with Tessa King burying a trey and Brittany Frazier hitting a pair, trimming the gap to 23-29 before Lanning beat the buzzer with a long shot of her own, ending the half with the Lady Warriors ahead 32-23.
The lead expanded in the third, as Lanning and Swoape combined for three more 3-pointers to put their team up 46-32, and in the game’s final period a long Lady Pioneer scoring drought, caused in part by five turnovers, allowed Riverdale to go up by as many as 29 points on their way to the district win.
Davis led all scorers with her 23, while Lanning finished with 13 points and Shellina Burgess added a dozen.
The Lady Pioneers were led by Frazier’s 10-point night, with King tossing in nine points and the duo of Jasmine Hall and Miki Rogers had six each.
WCHS will be at home Tuesday night, taking on Siegel.