Riverdale girls beat former coach

MURFREESBORO – The same Riverdale philosophy that helped John Wild win a Class AAA girls basketball state championship at the Murfreesboro school in 2012, helped the Lady Warriors defeat him at Wilson Central in Wild's return to Johnny Parsley Gymnasium on Tuesday night.

The Lady Warriors overwhelmed Wilson Central 69-56 thanks to their full-court pressure defense, sideline traps and fast breaks.

Anastasia Hayes led the Lady Warrior attack with 26 points. She was constantly active in the defense and had five steals, and took them to the basket for fast-break layups.

"It's been a staple here since before I got here," said Riverdale coach Cory Barrett. "We are athletic and really quick. We had to use that to our advantage tonight because they could really shoot the basketball if you leave them open.

"We had to turn the game into a fast-paced game, and we were fortunate to do that and to come out with the win."

The Lady Warriors' strong defense allowed them to go on an 8-0 early run to take a 13-4 lead. Riverdale (3-1) extended its lead to 22-11 at the end of the first quarter. Hayes had nine points in the first quarter, six of them from layups after Wilson Central turnovers.

"We work on that in practice all the time," said Hayes, a sophomore.

Riverdale led 30-19 with two minutes left in the half, but Wilson Central cut the gap to 32-25 by the half.

Lady Wildcat guard Kendall Spray connected on two consecutive 3-pointers in the first minute of the third quarter, and Wilson Central cut the gap as close as three, 34-31. Spray was 6-of-9 from 3-point range, and finished with a team-high 26 points.

But that was as close as Wilson Central could get. The Lady Warriors' defense turned back up the pressure and forced eight turnovers in the third quarter as they outscored Wilson Central 14-5 to up the lead back to double digits for good, 48-36.

The Lady Warriors converted 8-of-12 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

Several times, Wilson Central guards would beat Riverdale's backcourt pressure, only to turn the ball over in the frontcourt with traveling or miss layup opportunities.

"If we'd learn to pass and catch, I think we'd be pretty good," said Wild. "We've got to be better fundamentally."

Wild, who coached the Lady Warriors from 2010-2012, said he had some special experiences at Riverdale.

"It was a great place for three years," said Wild, who took an assistant coaching job for Lipscomb University's women's team when he left Riverdale. "I have some special memories. Those things kind of go through your head a little bit. I'm excited to be where I am now."

Riverdale 69, Wilson Central 56

Wilson Central 11 14 11 20 – 56

Riverdale 22 10 16 21 – 69

Wilson Central: Kendall Spray 26, Piper Elrod 12, Addison Byrd 10, Tucker 5, Altman 2, Jackson 1.

Riverdale: Anastasia Hayes 26, Brinae Alexander 17, Caroline Patrick 11, Hurd 5, Whittington 4, Williams 3, Murry 2, Messenger 1.