Riverside begins region play with big wins

On Tuesday the Panthers opened their region schedule with big wins over the Adamsville Cardinals. The Lady Panthers took an early lead midway through the first and never looked back as they won 50-40. The Panthers battled the Cardinals and struggled throughout the game with several turnovers in the paint and missed shots underneath, but came up strong when it mattered as they grabbed the lead late and held on to win 59-50.

In the girls game Jayla Davenport made a nice feed inside to Jazmine McDonald for a 3-2 score. Davenport then connected on a floater and put one back in to tie it 6-6. Emma Johnson nailed a three-pointer from the corner and McDonald went off the glass to give the Lady Panthers an 11-6 lead. McDonald later knocked down a 10-footer and Davenport hit a baseline jumper to go up 15-9 and Addison McCulley drained a long jumper to lead 17-11 as nine of the Lady Cardinal points came off threes.

McCulley hit a runner in the second quarter and two free throws from Alyssa Pratt broke a 7-0 run. Davenport scored the next two baskets from inside the paint and McKinley Rosson went up strong to make it 27-23 at the half.

In the third Ella Davis hit from inside and drew the foul for a three-point play. Davenport scored two more buckets down low, and after two free throws, it was 36-28. Davenport scored again off the dribble, then grabbed a steal and laid it in to make it 41-30 going into the fourth.

Davenport scored in the opening moments of the fourth but the Lady Panthers went on a run of missed shots which gave the Lady Cardinals several opportunities. Fortunately for Lady Blue, they were not able to capitalize. Pratt made a good move inside to increase the lead and RHS went on to win 50-40. Scorers: Jayla Davenport (25), McDonald (7), Davis (5), Pratt (4), McCulley (4), Johnson (3) and Rosson (2)

Jagger Cupples started the scoring for the Panthers after a hot Cardinal start. James Harralston went off the glass and Camden Eason went up for another shot to trail 8-6. Landon Swindle made a nice pass to Eason inside and Timothy Harralston knocked down a three to tie it 11-11 but the Cardinals led 16-12 going into the second.

In the second Riverside had trouble finishing their shots while Adamsville would hit a big three every now and then. J. Harralston spun in the lane for a bucket and Jack Cupples put one back to make it 21-16. T. Harralston hit another three-pointer from the top of the key and Jag. Cupples hit from inside. T. Harralston drained another three and Jac. Cupples scored the next four points to make it 30-28 at the half.

Jag. Cupples started the third by cutting into the lane and hitting a putback to give Riverside their first lead 32-30. Matthew Wyatt scored on a fast break and Kutter Potts drove in from the baseline to trail 38-37. Eason scored down low and it was 42-39 as a slew of turnovers plagued the Panthers at the end of the quarter.

In the early part of the fourth J. Harralston and Eason matched three-pointers from the Cardinals to keep it tied 45-45. Jag. Cupples scored from the blocks and J. Harralston hit a big three-pointer to tie it 50-50. J. Harralston connected on a short jumper and a steal and layup by T. Harralston gave the Panthers a 54-50 lead. The Cardinals were forced to foul late and Riverside upped their lead to 59-50 as the final horn sounded. Scorers: James Harralston (16), Timothy Harralston (11), Jagger Cupples (10), Camden Eason (10), Jac. Cupples (7), Potts (2), Wyatt (2) and Swindle (1)

Timothy Harralston had some key steals––especially late in the game––with some nice assists and shots. The senior said, “Adamsville led most of the game but we were still in it the whole time. Defense was the key as that could turn into our offense. We had to come together as a team to get the win. Nice to start out region play like this but we still got to improve and work harder.”