By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE — Riverside approached Saturday’s clash with longtime nemesis John Curtis as a chance to finally challenge the perennial district champion. The Lady Patriots, however, showed that they aren’t ready to give up the throne.

Curtis’ defensive pressure was the key in the Patriots’ 54-36 District 10-2A win over the Rebels, as Riverside struggled to avoid turnovers and stop Curtis’ transition game.

It was arguably the most anticipated game in the history of the Rebel girls basketball program. Curtis entered the game ranked fifth in Class 2A, while Riverside was ranked 10th in the LSWA poll, the highest ranking the Lady Rebels have ever attained.  

Forward Tia Charles scored 20 points to lead Curtis (15-7, 4-0). Kolby Morgan and Detorian Henderson added 15 and 12 points respectively.

Kendra Turner led Riverside (15-7, 2-1) with 12 points. Jaimaya Bolden scored nine.

“We knew they wanted to establish Kendra, so we had to make her work,” said Charles. “Just keep her off the block and make her take tough shots. After that, keep pressure on the ball.

“We knew this was a big game and that (Riverside) would come out swinging. We stayed disciplined on defense and kept attacking the lane.”

Curtis coach Barbara Farris echoed Charles’ words.

“They wanted to isolate (Turner) since they had the size advantage,” she said. “A big point of emphasis for us was making sure that when she passed back out to the perimeter, it would be a difficult pass … We work on ball pressure every day in practice.”

The Rebels usually high-scoring backcourt trio of Kelsey Joseph, Channan Simmons and Toni Hebert were held to just 11 combined points, led by Joseph’s six.

“I kept telling the our guards that they needed to look to score more,” said Hebert. “They weren’t even looking at the goal to shoot. We were forcing the ball inside and ignoring other opportunities.”

Curtis’ defensive pressure finally cracked the Rebels for good in the fourth quarter. Riverside trailed 37-30 to begin the final period, but six consecutive RA possessions ended with a turnover. Curtis took advantage, ending that stretch with a 44-30 lead and turning what had been a highly competitive game of runs into a comfortable Patriots’ victory.

Riverside committed 26 turnovers in the game, though Riverside coach Kristy Hebert said that the Rebels’ issues weren’t limited to that statistic.

“It was more than just the turnovers,” said Hebert. “We missed shots underneath … if we make just a couple of extra shots early on, we can take control of the game. Curtis was extremely disciplined. They took good shots, hit their free throws, made their layups. And that was the difference.”

Curtis led 21-13 in the second quarter when Riverside began to heat up. Toni Hebert made a pair of free throws and Bolden added another to cut three off the lead. A basket by Ja’Keyra Gautreaux made it 21-18 and a layup by Bolden cut the Curtis lead to one, 21-20. Curtis extended its lead back to six on a putback by Farryn Wallow, but Turner scored inside just before halftime off of a feed from Gautreaux to make it 27-23 at the half.

While both teams struggled to fight through foul trouble in the first half — four Rebels and three Patriots had three fouls each in the first half — the whistles calmed down significantly in the second half.

Henderson made a pull-up jumper to push Curtis to a 31-26 advantage. Turner scored again off of a dish from Gautreaux, but Curtis answered with a Kelsie Ostriecher bucket off of a Charles feed. Joseph banked in a bucket for Riverside off of an offensive rebound to make it 33-30, but Curtis scored the final four points of the third quarter via Charles and Henderson.

From there, Curtis’ defensive pressure stymied the Rebels’ offense long enough for the Patriots to put things away. Henderson nailed a 3-pointer to push JCC ahead by 10. Charles made two free throws and then a layup. A Morgan layup made it 46-30. Riverside didn’t score in the fourth until Turner made it 46-32 with 4:28 remaining; but Riverside got no closer than that 14-point margin and finished with just six points in the final frame.

“We talked before the game about the history between Riverside and John Curtis in all sports,” said Farris. “(Riverside) has accomplished a lot this year and they’re playing with much more confidence. We knew we needed to expect their best and bring our own.”

Hebert said that the result was disappointing, but that there’s no time to dwell on it.

“It’s not the end of the season,” said Hebert. “We still get them in the second round of district. We need to take it as a learning experience and get back to work.”

REBELS DOWN HAYNES, MCGEHEE — The Curtis game came sandwiched between a pair of Rebel district wins, first against Haynes Friday, then at McGehee Monday.

Riverside (16-7, 3-1) topped Haynes 64-46 behind 23 points from Simmons. Turner scored 13 and Joseph added 12 for the Rebels.

Haley Gonzales and Amira Karagic led Haynes with 13 each.

The Rebels defeated McGehee decisively on the road Monday, 74-31.

Turner led all scorers with 20. Toni Hebert scored 13. Simmons and Joseph each added 10.

Lacee Ancar scored nine to lead McGehee.

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