Riverdale stops Lady 'Cats in OT

GLADEVILLE — A matchup which might be fitting for the end of the season left Wilson Central with a lot of questions at the beginning.
Riverdale outlasted the defending state champions 56-52 in overtime Tuesday in a TSSAA Hall of Champions game.
Middle Tennessee State-signee Anne Marie Lanning scored 25 points for Riverdale, hitting two three-pointers and leading the Lady Warriors with nine rebounds.
"She's an intelligent player," Lady Wildcat coach Bud Brandon said of Lanning, who notched nine fourth-period points as Riverdale rallied from a 39-34 deficit to a 50-50 tie. "We're a smarter team than we played, a better team than we played.
"Riverdale, give them credit. They outhustled us. They beat us physically. They beat us mentally and we've got some things we obviously need to address and find out. We got to find out who our point guard is going to be. We got to find out who our wing players are going to be and we've got to get our post players more involved in our offense."
Shellina Burgess broke a 52-52 tie with an overtime layup after Lanning drove and dished. Lanning tossed in two free throws in the final minute.
Alex Bivens, who finished with 15 points in a supporting role, put Riverdale in front 50-49 with a three-pointer from near the top of the key with 18 seconds left in regulation.
Chelsea Burroughs, in her Wilson Central debut after transferring from Mt. Juliet, tied it with a free throw with 8.6 seconds remaining.
It was a game of runs with Riverdale driving to an 8-2 lead early.
"Early on, we forced some things that weren't there," Brandon said. "We got to let the offense of the game come to us. I thought we tried to take the game to them, and when you do that, we had poor shots and some turnovers that cost us."
Central came back behind sophomore post Jasmine Hassell, who, despite being double- and triple-teamed at times, scored five points, including a three-point play, in a 7-0 run to put the Lady Wildcats in front 9-8. Sara Williams' putback widened the margin to three before Bivens drove the lane to bring Riverdale within 11-10 by the first-quarter break.
The second quarter was a see-saw affair until Riverdale ended the first half with a 10-0 run to go up 26-18 by the break.
Then Alabama-signee Tierney Jenkins, who led the Lady Wildcats with 22 points and 14 rebounds, tossed in 10 third-period points and Burroughs buried a pair of three-pointers as Central rallied to go up 39-33 on a 13-footer by Lauren Wasson which capped an 11-0 run.
"We got things adjusted and had control of the game and just didn't do some things when you get up by four points, you want to use the clock a little bit and play smart and take care of the basketball," Brandon said. "And we didn't do that."
Hassell threw in 13 points for Central while Burroughs added eight, Wasson five and Williams four.
Brandon started Central veterans Wasson and Lauren Farmer in the backcourt along with the triple towers of Jenkins, Hassell and Williams up front. Mt. Juliet-transfers Burroughs and Jessyca Christopher came off the bench with Burroughs seeing the bulk of the action down the stretch.
"A lot of it is defense," Brandon explained. "We've got to find someone who can guard Lanning. Lanning's going to score outside and she's going to post you up also.
"That was probably defense more than anything else. We just had a hard time cutting those two off."
Central will host Siegel at 6:30 p.m. next Tuesday.
"And if we play like we did tonight, we'll be 0-2," Brandon said.

Cold-shooting Tigerettes fall to Monterey
WATERTOWN — A young Watertown team had trouble hitting the basket Tuesday night as Monterey took a 44-31 TSSAA Hall of Champions triumph.
The Tigerettes hit just 8 of 30 from the floor in a game which won't count on Watertown's record.
"We made a lot of young mistakes," said Watertown coach Jeff Luttrell, whose Tigerettes travel to defending Class A runner-up Jackson County in another Hall of Champions game at 6:30 p.m. Friday. "We had a lot of players without a lot of experience out there and it showed tonight."
Center Molly Heady knocked down 19 first-half points for the Lady Wildcats, who led 24-20 at halftime. Monterey widened the margin to 38-25 through three periods.
Brittnee Sells tossed in two three-pointers on her way to 18 for Watertown while Miaushia Thompson added eight, Sarah Reeder three and Laura Clark two.

Lady Saints succumb to hot and fast Community
UNIONVILLE — A combination of hot shooting and numerous takeaways was too much for Mt. Juliet Christian to overcome Tuesday night as Community raced past the Lady Saints 53-18 in a TSSAA Hall of Champions game.
Mt. Juliet Christian committed 27 turnovers against the press while Community connected on 9 of 13 three-pointers. Andriana Jones threw in three triples on her way to 13 points while Heather Small tossed in two threes en route to 10 for the Lady Vikings.
Anna Haley finished with five points for Mt. Juliet Christian, playing its first game under interim coach David Kitchen. Ashley Hudson and Kristen Tewmey each finished with four while Chelsea George threw in three and Paige Hudson two. Christine Humes secured six rebounds.
Mt. Juliet Christian will host Portland in another Hall of Champions game at 6 p.m. Thursday. Some MJCA schedules incorrectly list the game as being on the road.
Sports Editor Andy Reed can be reached at 444-3952 ext. 17 or by e-mail at andy.reed@lebanondemocrat.com.