Warrior girls roll past Warren County

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard

Lauren Patterson (12) finds herself in a tight predicament thanks to the defensive pressure provided by Riverdale’s Alex Bivens during the first half of Friday’s game. (Rob Nunley photo)

MURFREESBORO ? Riverdale’s girls basketball program rattled off six straight wins to start the 2005-2006 season, but was handed an upset loss Tuesday night to their neighboring rivals from Siegel.

Unfortunately for Warren County’s girls, the loss apparently didn’t sit too well with the Lady Warriors.

Roaring out to a 30-point lead by halftime, Riverdale got back on the winning track with a decisive 69-40 victory over coach Ann Eades’ Lady Pioneers, who remained winless in District 7-AAA play, losing their fourth straight.

“Right now scoring is a major problem for this team,” said Eades, whose squad fell to 3-5 overall. “Riverdale is an outstanding ball team, and puts a lot of pressure on you defensively. But one of our biggest problems tonight was missed shots from the blocks early, and it took the wind right out of our sails.”

Connecting on just two field goals in the first quarter, and none in the second, the Lady Pioneers looked out-matched for much of the game, as the Lady Warriors turned a 5-5 tie into a 16-7 lead by the end of the first period.

Two Heather Frazier free throws and another from Elizabeth Kennamer were the only points WCHS could muster in the second, while Riverdale ? with the help of 3-pointers from Autumn Haynes and Alex Bivens as well as two from Payton Dickinson ? jumped out to a commanding 40-10 lead by halftime which the Lady Pioneers would never threaten.

Fans looking for a bright side from Friday’s contest might note that the Lady Pioneers did out-score their guests in the second, posting 30 points to Riverdale’s 39. But by the time they found any semblance of an offensive rhythm, it was unfortunately too late to change the game’s eventual outcome.

Clearing the bench in the fourth quarter, the Lady Pioneers out-scored Riverdale 18-10 in the game’s final period, with Taylor Hennessee scoring all eight of her points in that quarter.

Hennessee and Kennamer had eight each to lead WCHS’s effort, while Amanda Locke finished with seven. Heather and Brittany Frazier had six each, Lauren Patterson scored three and Jasmine Hall added two.

Bivens paced Riverdale with 16 points, while Lanning had 13.