Riverdale 72 Oakland 50 in Girls Basketball

Riverdale 72 Oakland 50 in Girls Basketball 
By Shaun Foster
Photos By Brice Robbins

Murfreesboro,TN (01/06) Riverdale High Lady Warriors Basketball defeated the Oakland High Lady Patriots 72-50 in the long-time rivals’ first 7-AAA game of the season at Riverdale High School.

This was the first District 7-AAA game for both teams and the first meeting of these rivals this season. The Oakland-Riverdale rivalry has been going on since 1972, and the Johnny Parsley Memorial Gymnasium at Riverdale was jam-packed on both sides to see this installment of the ongoing feud.

The game was close in the opening minutes but missed goals and opportunities soon found Riverdale ahead 15-4 with 2:15 remaining in the first quarter of play.  Ellen Riggins closed the deficit to 15-6 with a two point basket with 2 minutes remaining. Olivia Jones scored just before time expired on the first quarter, to put the the Lady Warriors firmly in control at 22-6.

Oakland missed the basket and a chance to score first in the second quarter. A rebound by Shacobia Barbee led to a two pointer by Alexa Middleton just 40 seconds into the quarter. When the Lady Patriots found the goal again, it had been almost 6 minutes since their last basket. The Lady Warriors were running away with the game, outscoring Oakland 20-8 in the second quarter. The first half ended with Riverdale on top 42-14.

The Lady Patriots came out swinging in the second half and scored first by way of Sylvia Barnes, but Alexa Middleton quickly returned the favor for Riverdale. Although Oakland was finding the basket more frequently in this half, the Lady Warriors were slowly pulling ahead in score. By 4:08 in the third quarter, Riverdale was ahead 54-22.

A layup by Emily Eubank gave Oakland their last points of the quarter and a 3 point shot by Alexa Middleton with 0:10 to go, wrapped up the third quarter at 65-32 Riverdale.

Riverdale scored the first 4 points of the fourth quarter but the Lady Patriots rallied late. The Lady Patriots bested Riverdale 18-7 in the final quarter but it was not enough to overcome the Lady Warriors lead. The game ended 72-50 in Riverdale’s favor.

Tonights game moved Oakland to 13-2 overall and 0-1 in district 7-AAA  and advanced Riverdale to 13-3 overall and 1-0 in district 7-AAA for the season. Riverdale will meet District 7-AAA foe LaVergne on Tuesday 01/10 and Oakland will play District 7-AAA opponent Siegel on the same night. Oakland and Riverdale will have a rematch on Friday 01/27.