Kelli Coleman scored eight of her 12 points in the final 2:12 to help Riverdale close out the game with a 9-1 run, and ultimately, a 54-47 victory over Prairie View on Thursday night.
In a game which saw 18 lead changes, Molly Gregory converted both ends of a double bonus to put the Lady Spartans in front 46-45 with 2:47 to play.
On Prairie View’s next possession, Brittany Foshee won the battle for a loose ball and fired a long pass to Coleman, who finished the break to give the visiting Lady Rebels a 47-46 edge.
“I thought the biggest play of the game was on the scrum for the loose ball,” Prairie View coach Dave Farrell said. “We didn’t get back on back on defense and they throw the long pass for a layup.”
The Lady Spartans would never regain the lead.
Prairie View missed two shots on its next series, before Taylor Giddings yanked the defensive rebound and fired the outlet to Giddings for another transition bucket and a 3-point (49-46) Riverdale lead.
Logan Tubbs then made the second end of a two-shot foul to bring the Lady Spartans within 49-47 with 1:37 remaining.
After the two sides exchanged turnovers on their next offensive possession, Giddings aced both ends of a one-and-one to put Riverdale in front 51-47 with 1:06 on the clock.
Following another exchange of turnovers, Foshee was fouled after pulling down a defensive rebound. Making the front end of a double bonus, Foshee padded the Lady Rebels’ lead to 52-47 with 28 seconds left in the contest.
Crashing the defensive glass on Prairie View’s fourth straight empty possession, Coleman sank both free throws with nine seconds remaining to wrap up the scoring.
“I thought we lost our poise down the stretch,” Farrell said. “We played totally out of control. We got in too big of a hurry. Riverdale held together down the stretch better than we did — I thought that was the difference in the game.
“If we can learn from this, I can live with it. I may not like, but I can live with it. We have to get better.”
Riverdale, the defending MAIS Class 1A state champion, knocked down 13 of its 19 free throws, including a clutch 5-for-6 in the final minute and a half.
“We shot ourselves in the foot, but Riverdale’s a good basketball team,” Farrell said. “They’re number one for a reason. They kept their poise down the stretch and made their free throws, which is two things we didn’t do.”
Riverdale held a 15-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Down 23-22, the Lady Spartans went on a 6-0 spurt to open up a 5-point margin — the biggest spread of the half.
Free throws by Gregory and Tubbs, sandwiched around Caroline Oliphant’s 15-footer, gave Prairie View a 26-23 lead.
Moments later, Oliphant set up Gregory from point blank range.
Giddings made one-of-two from the line with one second remaining in the half to close the Lady Rebels within 28-24.
Oliphant’s turn-around 15-footer off of a long rebound gave Prairie View its biggest lead of the night, 30-24, early in the third quarter.
Trailing 34-29, the Lady Rebels reeled off 11 unanswered points.
Morgan Garrett’s 16-foot turn-around gave Riverdale a 38-34 edge heading into the fourth quarter.
Hannah Garrett spotted Giddings wide open underneath to open the fourth quarter scoring, stretching the difference to 40-34.
Down 42-36, the Lady Spartans countered with a run of their own, striking for eight straight points.
Oliphant’s three-point play and pull-up 17-footer tied the game at 42, before Tubbs sank both ends of a one-and-one to help Prairie View reclaim the lead at 44-42 with 4:46 to play.
Eleven seconds later, Morgan Garrett answered with a 3 to put Riverdale up 45-44.
Foshee tossed in eight of her 15 points in the first quarter to pace Riverdale (27-1) on the scorebook. Coleman added 12 — all in the second half — and Giddings had 10.
For the Lady Spartans (21-5), Oliphant totaled 23 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists. Molly Gregory added 12 points, followed by Tubbs and Kristin Kindrix with six. Tubbs collected nine rebounds and Kindrix had eight.
“I thought Kristin and Victoria Billings played well,” Farrell said. “I thought Logan played well, too, but she was double and triple-teamed all night.”
NOTES: Oliphant and Tubbs played in their final home game. ... Oliphant was whistled for two fouls in the first minute of play, but did not pick up foul No. 3 until the fourth quarter. She eventually fouled out with nine seconds remaining in the contest. ... Riverdale swept the season series from the Lady Spartans 3-0, including a 39-38 decision at Spartan Gym on Dec. 30. ... Riverdale’s only loss this season came to Neches, last year’s Texas Class 1A public school state runner-up. ... Prairie View will be the No. 1 seed from District 6-2A in the South State Tournament next week at Brookhaven, Miss. Pairings for the tournament will be posted Sunday at www.msais.org.
BASTROP —
