Lady Rebels fall in NEA Invitational finals

The Riverside Lady Rebels came up a little short losing to ICC 60-57 in the finals Division 2 bracket of the NEA Invitational Tournament Saturday at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.

Ryley Eakins got Riverside on the board first hitting one of two free throws before ICC got a basket inside to make it 2-1 Lady Cougars, early in the opening quarter. Gracie Washington made it 3-2 Lady Rebels with a basket in the paint, but ICC scored the next eight points to go up 10-3. Klaire Womack hit triple twine for Riverside then the Lady Cougars hit three of four free throws on back to back trips to the line to make the score 13-6 ICC with 2:58 left. The Lady Rebels went on a 9-3 run as Washington scored down low, the Lady Cougars converted an old-school three-point play, before Carly Jo Womack and Amber Courtney hit two free throws each and Eakins canned a three-ball to make it 16-15 ICC. Brooklyn Berry nailed a three-pointer after an ICC bucket and Courtney hit two free throws, after the Lady Cougars hit one of two free throws, to make it 20-19 Lady Rebels at the end of one.

The Lady Rebels opened the second quarter with a 5-0 run when Berry hit triple twine and Washington scored inside to make it 25-19 Riverside. ICC responded with a 10-0 run before Berry stopped the run with a three-pointer making the score 29-28 Lady Cougars with 3:08 left. A stick back basket and an old-fashioned three-point play pushed ICC's lead to 34-28 before Carly Jo Womack drilled a three-ball for the Lady Rebels making it 34-31. ICC added one of two free throws late to take a 35-31 lead at halftime.

Lady Rebel Ryley Eakins shoots a jumper with a defender's hand in her face during girls' Division 2 finals action of the NEA Invitational Tournament. (Photo by Cosmo Cossey)

Eakins cut the ICC lead to 35-33 with a basket for the first points of the third quarter, before ICC reeled off eight straight points to push their lead to 10 points (43-33), with just over four minutes left in the period. Riverside’s Carly Jo Womack scored in the paint and canned a three-ball around an ICC jumper making it 45-38, before the Lady Cougars hit one of two free throws to push their lead to 46-38. Berry canned a three-pointer, the Washington went coast to coast for a lay up to make it 46-43. ICC scored in the paint before Berry hit two free throws, making the score 48-45 Lady Cougars at the end of three quarters of play.

ICC canned a three-pointer to push their lead to 51-45 early in the fourth quarter, before back to back baskets from Washington and Berry made it 51-49 Lady Cougars with 6:34 left. ICC hit a paid of three-pointers wrapped around a pair of then Washington free throws, before Courtney hit a jumper in the lane making it 57-53 ICC.

A Lady Cougar was whistled for a technical foul with 1:54 left but Berry missed both technical free throws, before Courtney scored in the paint to cut the lead to 57-55. The Lady Cougars hit a jumper and made one of two free throws, before Carly Jo Womack scored at the buzzer to make the final score 60-57 Lady Cougars.

“Defensively were just a mess. We gave up 35 points in the first half after we've been holding teams under 40 in games. I thought we were just unorganized and sloppy on defense,” Riverside head coach Tyler Timms said after the game. “We didn't match up well with their personnel. I thought if we could get the game tied up we might have a chance to win it. But we just couldn't get over the hump. It was a frustrating game,” Timms added. “Give all the credit to them (ICC), but I was very disappointed,” Timms said.

Berry led Riverside with 16 points, while Washington and Carly Jo Womack scored 12 points each.

The Lady Rebels got to the finals by beating Sloan-Hendrix 70-30 in the quarter-finals as they hit 10 three-pointers in the game. Briley Travis hit five three-pointers on her way to 17 points to lead Riverside while Washington and Carly Jo Womack added 14 and 11 points respectively. Riverside squared off with Marmaduke in the semi-finals and came away with a 70-47 win. Carly Jo Womack led three players in double digits with 16 points while Travis added 14 points and Courtney finished with 13 points.