Riverdale girls down Bearden to reach third straight Class AAA state finals

Murfreesboro Daily News Journal

Riverdale’s Alasia Hayes (1) goes up for a shot as Bearden's Annaka Hall (14) defends her during the semifinals of the TSSAA Girls State Basketball Tournament on Friday, March 9, 2018, at MTSU.

MURFREESBORO - Riverdale will battle for its third consecutive Class AAA girls state basketball title Saturday, thanks to Friday's 77-59 semifinal win over Bearden at MTSU's Murphy Center.

The Lady Warriors (35-1) will battle Houston in the finals on Saturday at 1 p.m. Houston defeated Bradley Central 52-49.

More:What Vanderbilt signee, Riverdale star Brinae Alexander is like off the court

Riverdale scored 77 points for the second consecutive state tournament game and also put up 28 points in a quarter for the second time in a row, getting that total in the third quarter to pull away after building a 36-22 halftime lead.

"I feel great about it (getting back to the state finals)," Riverdale senior Brinae Alexander said.

Added sophomore Alasia Hayes, "We want to leave on a good note."

Senior and MTSU signee Amanda Whittington had a big game for Riverdale, scoring a game-high 20 points on 7-of-8 from the field. She also had five rebounds and three steals.

Alasia Hayes scored 18, Alexis Whittington 12 and Alexander 11 for the Lady Warriors.

Trinity Lee led Bearden (29-8) with 20 points. Jaklyia Davis added 11.

Riverdale’s Amanda Whittington (12) goes up for a shot during the game against Bearden in the semifinals of the TSSAA Girls State Basketball Tournament on Friday, March 9, 2018, at MTSU.