Lady Colts secure first berth in state in nine years

MANILA – It had been nine years since the Rivercrest Lady Colts last appearance in the state tournament, but with a convincing 49-34 win over Cave City in the quarterfinals of the Class 3 Region 2 Tournament the drought is over.

“That was the one we needed to get,” said Rivercrest head coach Ronnie Dye of the one win to qualify for state. “Nine years in the making and we’re happy to get back.”

The outcome was never in doubt as the Lady Colts scored 15 straight points over the first and second quarters after trailing 5-4 early. A Destiny Burks three at the 4:13 mark of the second period gave the one seed a 19-5 lead.

Zakiyah Brownlee (33) draws the foul from Aris Brady (23) earning two free throws in the second half of Wednesday’s regional tournament opener. The 6-5 center was 6-of-7 from the free throw line in the second half of Rivercrest’s victory over Cave City. (Game Photos By David Pierce)

“Yes, defensively, it was a really good showing for us,” explained Dye crediting freshman Ella Gonzalez with her work on that end of the floor. “She’s the key. When she’s flying around out there disrupting shots, it makes a difference.

“(Ella) had been sick and we didn’t know if she was gonna play,” he added, “but obviously she was able to give it a go.”

Gonzalez was not only active on defense but grabbed nine rebounds as well, while scoring two points.

Rivercrest welcomed back junior Jalexia Young who had been out an extended time due to injury. Young scored two points in her return although the team lost, 55-49, to Mountain View. Young adds depth to the roster and give the Lady Colts another ball handler who can also score and defend.

Her effort wasn’t required on the offensive end as Burks, Mykayla Banks and Zakiyah Brownlee combined for the Lady Colts remaining 47 points. Burks tallied 18 – 15 in the second half – while Burks chipped in 17 and Brownlee 12.

Rivercrest held that 19-5 lead at the break and extended its lead to 37-17 by the end of three quarters. Cave City (12-15) did outscore the Lady Colts, 17-12, in the final frame but the outcome wasn’t in doubt.

Kam Fowler led all scorers with 20 points. The Cavewoman guard hit six three-pointers.

Ella Gonzalez attempts to back her way to the basket against Mountain View’s Josie Stevens. Gonzalez, just a freshman, led the Lady Colts with 15 points. (Game Photos By David Pierce)

Mt. View 55, Lady Colts 49 (semifinals)

In a closely-contested matchup between the one-seed Rivercrest and the two-seed Lady Yellowjackets (23-11), neither team enjoyed more than an eight-point lead.

That came late in the game after there had been six ties and nine lead changes through the first three quarters.

Rivercrest’s DeDe Burks eyes the floor either looking for a path to basket or an open teammate. Though the Lady Colts fell, 55-49, to the Mountain View Lady Yellowjackets, the junior eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for her career in the fourth quarter.

“We just really couldn’t get our offense clicking,” said Dye. “We’re at our best when we take our time and look for the best shot. Too many times today, we panicked and just put our head and drove to the basket, hoping for the shot to fall. It didn’t.

“We know how to handle the basketball,” he added. “It’s just a matter of slowing down and protecting the basketball.”

A swing in momentum came with one minute left in the third quarter with Rivercrest trailing, 41-40.

After being whistled for a foul, Banks was issued a technical foul when she didn’t retrieve the basketball after pushing it down the court.

“There were some calls there late that went against us,” explained Dye, “and we lost our cool and made some poor decisions. When you give them free opportunities, more often than not, they’re gonna make you pay.”

From there, Mt. View scored 11 of the next 13 points to lead 52-43 with 3:10 remaining in the game.

The Lady Colts weren’t able to recover and were relegated to the third place game against Manila, while Mt. View advanced to the championship.

Gonzalez led her team with 15 points and also had eight rebounds. Burks chipped in 12 and provided a feel good moment in the loss when she scored the 1,000 point of her high school career in the fourth quarter.

Burks rebounded a missed three-point attempt and dribbled to the corner when she launched a three that caught nothing but the bottom of the net. She eclipsed the mark with :26 left in the game.

During a timeout, the RHS cheerleaders unveiled a banner commemorating the moment. According to Dye, entering the semifinal game Burks scored 30 points in three games as a freshman, 456 as a sophomore and 502 as junior.

Banks added 11 points, five steals and three assists and Brownlee scored nine points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots.

“We’re a good team,” concluded Dye, “and that’s one of the best teams we’ll see this year and we battled them. We can still do some good things before all of this is over.”

Mt. View’s Kaitlyn McCarn led all scorers with 25 points.