By Molly Seales

The week of January 17-21 was a good one for Riverdale basketball with the teams having a perfect week, winning 6 out of 6 games. On January 17, the varsity teams picked up 2 district wins against Central School. The Lady Rebels got a huge 66-12 win over the Lady Pioneers, who mostly have JV aged players. The starters and sixth man didn’t dress out, allowing the other varsity players to get some quality playing minutes. Georgia Carlisle led all scorers with 20 points and also led the team in steals with 8. Makayla Pickett had 8 points and led the team in rebounding with 9 boards. Emily Nettles had 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 deflections, and 3 steals. Madison Chamberlin was solid across the board with 8 points, 4 deflections, 3 steals, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds. Haylee Smith and Gracie Stephens added 5 points each. Jadyn King had a great night with 4 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, and 5 deflections. Emily Kirkland had 4 points, while Emma Giddings and Kacie Harper added 2 points each. The varsity boys also had an easy time with Central, winning 60-37. Ty Jones had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Caden Long added 15 points and 8 rebounds. Kyle Guillory had 7 points and 5 rebounds. Denver Williams had 2 points and had 10 boards, while Ryder Huddleston pulled down 8 rebounds of his own. Ben Almond had 5 points, 5 rebounds, and led the team in steals with 4. Thad Bates had 4 points, Reagan Huddleston had 3 points, and Mason Murray and Jace Wilhite had 2 points each, and Hayden Hillman chipped in a free throw.

On Friday, January 21, the JV and Varsity Rebels got 4 exciting wins over Union Christian Academy. The JV girls played first and defeated UCA 38-13. Haylee Smith had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Jadyn King added 8 points, 3 assists, and 3 deflections. Hanna Catherine Huddleston also had 8 points, along with 5 steals, 3 assists, 3 deflections, and 2 rebounds. Chloe Jordan had 4 points and 6 rebounds, while Makayla Pickett, Ally Kate Hillman, and Kynnedi Taylor had 2 points each. The JV boys game was an exciting one with Riverdale winning 37-35 in the last minute of the game. Ashton Almond led the team in scoring with 16 points. He also had 4 steals and 4 assists. Aston Hester added 8 points, 6 deflections, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. Logan Gryder had 6 points and 4 rebounds. Colton Caskey had 5 points and was leading rebounder with 11 boards. Cannon Breedlove had 2 points, including the go-ahead free throw in the last minute of the game. He also had 9 steals, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 deflections. The varsity Lady Rebels defeated UCA 60-12, with the starters seeing no action after halftime. Rylee Kate Woodard led the team in scoring with 18 points. She also had 9 steals, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 deflections. Mary Claire Jones added 12 points along with 4 assists, 4 steals, and 3 deflections. Kenley Loftin had 11 points, 6 deflections, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists, and 2 blocked shots. Renee Prosperie had 6 points, and Haylee Smith had 4 points. Jessie Kate Cobb had 3 points and led the team in rebounding with 11 boards. Emily Nettles, Makayla Pickett, and Jadyn King had 2 points each. The varsity boys’ game was a great spectator’s game with the Rebels coming out on top of UCA 59-55. Ty Jones had 33 points, 4 deflections, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Caden Long added 8 points and had 6 rebounds. Denver Williams had 6 points and led in rebounding with 10 boards. Ryder Huddleston had 6 points and 4 rebounds. Ben Almond and Reagan Huddleston had 3 points each, while Almond led the team in deflections with 5 and Huddleston led the team in assists with 4.

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