By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

Riverside returned from the Thanksgiving break on Tuesday in search of its first win, but visiting Hosanna Christian proved to be a spoiler, topping the Rebels 53-30 in a game contested at Reserve Christian.

Lauren Doyle scored 10 to lead Riverside (0-6). Heather LeBlanc and Jill Blanchard each scored six.

The Rebels trailed 25-13 at halftime, but couldn’t find a way to put a dent into the Hosanna lead in the second half.

“From the half on, we just couldn’t catch up with them,” said Riverside Coach Kristy Hebert. “We had to go to a full court, man to man defense to try to get back in it, and it ended up putting us further behind.”

For Hosanna Christian (10-3), it was a rebound performance after seeing its season high six game-winning streak snapped at the hands of Ridgewood in its last game before the break.

Riverside struggled to score early in the game, allowing Hosanna to jump ahead and control the game’s pace.

“We didn’t shoot well at all from the outside,” said Hebert. “We hung with them at times, but we couldn’t erase the deficit.”

In spite of the winless record to date, Hebert says she’s seeing steady improvement from her team — and with a young group that saw its top three scorers from a season ago graduate this past year, that’s the most important thing to the coach as she guides the Rebels in her second season with the team.

“As long as we improve a little bit each game, particularly offensively, I’ll be happy,” she said. “Right now, it’s a matter of getting our offense together.”