Lady Rebels outgun rival BIC 61-42

Buffalo Island Central journeyed across the St. Francis River Thursday night to take on old foe Riverside in a key early season 2A-3 conference matchup, but the Lady Mustangs found the Lady Rebels to be poor hosts, as Riverside rolled to a 61-42 victory.

The Lady Rebels jumped to a 12-7 lead after the first quarter behind Natalie Milligan's eight points. Riverside upped its lead to 10 to begin the second period on an inside bucket by freshman Haven Robertson, followed by a long three pointer from senior Chelsea Nichols.

BIC fought back to close to within two points with 3:50 left in the half when Bailey Owens drilled a three pointer before the senior guard drove for two, slicing the Lady Rebel lead to 20-18. Skylar Kauke's three point play at the 3:20 mark increased the Riverside advantage to 23-18. Robertson added a bucket with 1:42 left in the half before Hattie Milligan's free throw gave the Lady Rebels an eight point lead at intermission.

Junior Lady Rebel Carson Smith drives for a layup Thursday night in 2A-3 conference basketball action at Lake City.

Kauke's bucket to begin the second half put the Lady Rebels up 28-18, but BIC went on a 10-1 run to trim the Lady Rebel lead to 29-28 midway through the third quarter. Karoline Thomas' conventional three point play, coupled with an Owens three pointer, brought BIC to within one point.

Nichols provided what may have been the biggest basket of the night, burying a three pointer from the top of the key with 2:43 left in the third quarter to push the Riverside advantage to 32-28. Nichols' bucket ignited a 12-0 Lady Rebel run to close out the quarter, putting Riverside on top 41-28 entering the final period of play. Riverside outscored BIC 20-14 in the final frame to secure the victory.

Kauke and Robertson led the Lady Rebels with 17 points apiece while Natalie Milligan also netted double digits, scoring 14. Nichols drilled three treys and finished with nine points while Hattie Milligan added four.

Thomas paced the Lady Mustangs with 15 points while Owens chipped in 10. Madison Nowlin tallied seven, Hannah Poe contributed five, Madison Greathouse pitched in three while Ashley Field added two.

"We had a 32-14 run to end the game," said Riverside Coach Jeff Womack. "I thought our girls were extremely gritty. We kept turning them back time after time. It was a game of runs, and we had a few more runs than they did. I thought Chelsea Nichols put the dagger in them with a huge three. Natalie Milligan holding Poe to five points was also huge for us. She did a great job on her. The whole team chipped in. I thought Thomas played a great game for BIC. She is a hard matchup for us. I was really proud of the girls tonight. It was an important conference win."

"We gave up too many easy buckets tonight," said BIC Coach Justin Yates. "We missed a lot of easy shots tonight. We haven't been shooting the ball well. We missed a lot of easy looks that we would normally hit. You've got to put those in the hole. That's what good teams do and right now we are trying to figure out if we are a good team. I thought we played good defensively, but we weren't able to get to the free throw line. We never got in the bonus all night. We need to do a better job of executing. I thought Karoline had a great game but Riverside was able to whip us on the boards tonight. They limited us to one and done on shots tonight, and we've got to be able to do the same thing to other teams."

Riverside sisters Hattie (11) and Natalie Milligan fight for possession of the basketball with BIC's Ashley Field as Lady Rebel teammates Haven Robertson (right) and Skylar Kauke (background) look on.

In junior high action, Riverside ran all over BIC 46-18. The two teams were tied 6-6 after the first quarter before Riverside took a 19-8 halftime lead. The Lady Rebels outscored BIC 18-8 in the third period to take a 21 point lead, and coasted in with the victory.

Bailey Fisher led Riverside with 15 points while Carson Smith followed closely behind with 14. Mallory Felton tallied 11, Hannah Shinall and Briley Douglas pitched in two apiece while Hailey Carr and Brittney Sain added one point each.

Harley Miller topped the Lady Mustangs with six points while Molly Hart added four. Heather Sipes, Cadyn Qualls and Lexi Walls chipped in two points apiece while Morgan James and Holly Stockton added one point each.

Riverside began the week, traveling to defending conference champion Marmaduke, and left with a 71-36 defeat at the hands of the Lady Greyhounds. All-state guard and Western Kentucky University signee Sidnee Bopp drained eight three pointers on her way to a 28 point night to lead Marmaduke. Cally Burgess added 10.

Marmaduke led 18-9 after the first quarter, 41-20 at the half and 55-32 after three periods of play.

Natalie Milligan led the Lady Rebels with nine points while Robertson and Kauke chipped in eight points apiece. Hattie Milligan and McKenna Beach scored three points apiece, Gattlin Hale and Ashlyn Snyder tallied two points each while Megan Davison added one point.

In junior high action, Riverside outlasted Marmaduke 40-39 in an overtime thriller. Fisher led the Lady Rebels with 13 points while Douglas chipped in 11. Smith scored eight, Sain had four while Shinall, Carr and Felton all pitched in two points apiece.

Natalie Lentz led the Lady Greyhounds with 21 points.

In the Bay Junior Invitational, Riverside fell to MacArthur 41-36. Fisher scored a game high 20 points to lead the Lady Rebels. Douglas and Sain tallied six points apiece, Smith contributed three while Shinall netted one point.