By Sedrick Bolton III November 17, 2022
RIVERDALE A change of pace from Riverdale in the second half allowed them to overcome their deficit and win against East Coweta 32-27.
The Indians' freshman guard Ariana Simmons got off to a great start, scoring all six of the team's points in the first quarter with their perimeter shooting. But Riverdale's starting guard Nyla Cole answered back, scoring five points in the period.
In the second quarter, East Coweta started to pull away. Their defense halted the Lady Raiders from any scoring run and sent them to halftime trailing by three.
But at the start of the third quarter, Riverdale showed a different tempo on the offensive and defensive end. It all started with sophomore Poetrie Dace.
Dace could be seen everywhere on the floor from her being an on-ball defender, using her signature rip-through move to attack the basket, and trips to the free throw line. Her team fed off her tenacity and emulated it the whole game.
"Last game, we really didn't give as much effort all four quarters," said Dace. "This game we gave effort first through fourth, we put up more shots, minimized our mistakes, we rebounded more."
With less than 27 seconds left in the third, Lady Raiders' forward Taneshia Grier closed out the quarter score six straight points. Not only did her three-pointer get her team amped up, an and-1 layup finish helped Riverdale outscore East Coweta 13-7 to take the lead heading into the fourth.
The Lady Raiders kept their momentum going in the fourth quarter. They attacked the basket and got steals which resulted in transition points one the other end. The defense applied pressure to the Lady Indians.
"We just wanted to make sure the girls were on the same page," said Lady Raiders' Head Coach Joey Wilder. "We came out hard, and we changed the defense up and that kind of helped us."
Riverdale presented man and different zone defenses to get East Coweta into uncomfortable positions.
With this victory, the Lady Raiders are now 1-1 and will face Therrell High School November 18.
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