Campbell's big night leads Lady Rebels past BIC 66-43

Facing a seven point halftime deficit, Riverside head coach Carrie Redman instructed her team to be aggressive and get to the foul line. The Lady Rebels took heed of their coach's advice and it paid off with a 66-43 victory over arch-rival Buffalo Island Central Monday night at Monette.

It was the Lady Rebel's first victory at the Mustang Athletic Complex and gave Riverside a 1-0 start in 2A-3 conference play.

"I thought we were only playing at about 50 percent effort in the first half," said Redman. "We weren't hustling; we weren't aggressive defensively, just kind of jogging it out. I told them at halftime to be aggressive and take it to them. We also adjusted to their overload on offense, which gave us problems in the first half. Once we did that, we got going and everything was alright."

After jumping to a 12-3 lead, Riverside watched the Lady Mustangs fight back to pull within 13-9 after the first period. A three pointer from Holly Dempsey and a lay-in by Jordon Miller gave BIC their first lead of the night, 14-13, at the 7:05 mark of the second quarter. The Lady Mustangs went on to outscore Riverside 17-6 in the second period and finished off the half when Corie Flannigan stuck in an offensive rebound to give BIC a 26-19 first half advantage.

Riverside rallied in the third quarter behind the inside play of Katey Campbell, who poured in a game high 30 points while pulling down 14 rebounds. Campbell penetrated the Lady Mustang defense time after time, scoring 14 points during Riverside's third period comeback. Morgan Emery's free throw at the 1:29 mark evened the score at

38-38, and the Lady Rebels took the lead for good when Anne Marie Johnson hit a 10-foot baseline jumper with two seconds left to give Riverside a 40-38 edge heading into the final period.

Campbell continued to burn the Lady Mustangs, scoring 15 more points during Riverside's fourth quarter assault in which the Lady Rebels outscored BIC 26-5 to put the game away.

"We just got in foul trouble and ran out of players," said BIC coach Stan Fowler. "We were playing really well in the first half, but foul trouble did us in. We had four players foul out and just couldn't keep up the pace. I thought the first half we boxed out and contained really well, but in the second half we weren't able to play aggressively on defense because of our foul trouble. Riverside played well in the second half."

"Katey Campbell played an outstanding game," said Redman. "She's the type player that goes non-stop and creates her own shots. She's going to be touching the ball whether it's on offense by going to the hole or hustling for rebounds. I am very glad to get the win tonight. I know this is a big rivalry but I am used to that, being a former player myself. I expected nothing less than a win and that's what we got."

Joining Campbell in double figures for Riverside was Brianna Driver and Morgan Emery. Driver scored 13 points and pulled down eight rebounds while Emery netted 12 points while dishing out five assists. Michelle Cobb tallied four, Kailey Holt scored three while Johnson and Ashley Calvert added two points apiece. Riverside connected on 21-39 from the foul line and hit three treys on the night.

Miller led the Lady Mustangs with 17 points while Dempsey added 10. Jenna Pike scored six, Jamie Harris and Taylor Owens tallied three points apiece while Flannigan and Whitlee Rolland added two each. BIC connected on 11-24 free throws and drained two treys.

In junior high action, BIC remained unbeaten at 14-0 with a convincing 47-21 victory over Riverside.

Brittany Fowler scored 14 points, snared 12 rebounds, dished out nine assists and came away with nine steals to lead the junior Lady Mustangs. Demi Hargrove also hit double digits, scoring 12 points. Emily Owens scored five, Hayley Parker, Kaylee Greathouse, and Cassidy Qualls netted four points apiece while Kaytelyn Sparkman had two points. Amber Rolland and Jacey Sneed contributed one point apiece.

Lauren Weaver led Riverside with eight points, Lindsey Bennet scored five, Becca Frayer tallied four while Emilee Manues and Kenzley Wilson added two points apiece.