By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

Marci Millet scored 21 points and Sarah Levin added 12 as Riverside won its second straight home game, 46-34 over Starkey.

The Rebels (4-7) led 18-11 at halftime and pushed its lead to a comfortable double-digit margin in the second half.

“We just told them to come out in the second half, be aggressive and take the fire out of the other team,” said Riverside coach Kristy Hebert.

Riverside repeatedly found success near the basket, using its height advantage over Starkey (6-4) to control the boards and score on layups and put-backs underneath the basket.

“Our girls underneath did an excellent job,” said Hebert. “They stayed after shots and it allowed us to take advantage of a lot of second chance opportunities.”

Millet took particular advantage of those opportunities. She scored 15 second half points, which included 15 of the Rebels first 19 points in the third half.

“We knew we had to take advantage of the matchup, and what they gave us,” said Millet. “It was very important, we really needed this win.”

After consecutive baskets by Millet to begin the second half made it 22-11, Starkey’s Haley Sanchez hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 22-14.

But baskets by Levin, Millet, and Jessica Price quickly built the lead back up to 28-18.

Millet would then score nine consecutive points for the Rebels to give her team a 37-25 advantage.

A Kaitlyn Millet jumper would give Riverside its biggest lead of the game, 39-25 midway through the fourth quarter. Starkey never recovered.

Last week, the Rebels went 1-2 in the St. Martin’s/Country Day tournament.

Riverside fell to Mount Carmel 50-20 in the tournament’s first round on Thursday at St. Martin’s. Levin led the team with nine points.

The Cubs led 23-12 at halftime, but held the Rebels to three third quarter points. Mount Carmel led 36-15 entering the fourth quarter and did not look back.

The Rebels rebounded to defeat Ecole Classique a day later, winning 43-27.

Riverside outscored Ecole 18-5 in the second quarter on its way to a 31-10 halftime lead, and Ecole never challenged the rest of the way.

Marci Millet led the Rebels with 15 points in the game.

On Saturday, the Rebels faced hosting St. Martin’s, who prevailed 58-47. St. Martin’s (3-5) seized control early in the game, outscoring Riverside 18-4 in the first quarter. The Rebels cut the lead to nine at halftime, 31-22, but could not make enough of a push late in the game to take victory.

Levin led the Rebels with 20 points in the game.