(Oakland) In a Class 1A Region 5 first round game Riverside will host Griswold.
The Lady Dawgs enter the postseason with a record of 6-15. “We have to make sure we continue to do the things we’ve done over the last few games to get better. We really want to make sure we are moving the ball on offense and communicating on defense. Our help side defense Tuesday night was really good The talk was really good. You could hear it throughout the whole gym. We have to make sure we move the ball and it doesn’t get stuck in one spot.”
They nearly pulled an upset over 17-win Logan-Magnolia on Tuesday. They led 30-23 going into the 4th, but fell 33-30. Coach Mitch Rice feels that sent a message about his team. “They are here to compete and go and continue to work and get better. When you take a team that beat you fairly soundly the last time that you played them and you bring them in here and they are loaded with seniors and we don’t have one senior on the team. A lot of times kids can shy away from wanting to compete and our girls did not. I really commend how hard that they played throughout that entire game.”
Riverside beat Griswold 54-18 back on December 5th. Defense and a fast pace were their tickets to success. “We transitioned well in that game. Our press was working pretty good as well early. We just pushed the ball which is something we are getting back to now.”
Thursday’s winner advances to take on a ranked Woodbine squad in the regional quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Riverside coach Mitch Rice:
