Matt Vines

EAST POINT – Twenty games in a row.

That’s the winning streak that the Riverdale girls basketball team takes into the MAIS postseason, which begins Wednesday in the Class 2A South Regional Basketball Tournament at Wilkinson County Christian Academy.

The Lady Rebels (27-5) earned a No. 1 seed by winning their district and will face No. 4 seed Tallulah Academy at 4 p.m.

Riverdale shouldn’t be pushed in the regional opener, but the Lady Rebels haven’t really been pushed in a relatively tough district of their own.

Just one district game was close – a three-point win against Claiborne Academy.

Riverdale made sure that didn’t happen again when the teams met Friday in the district finale as the Lady Rebels pounced in a 61-30 road win.

“A lot of it is focus – we were more focused,” said Riverdale coach Trey Pittman. “We’re a guard-oriented team, but our bigs stepped up Friday night. We won the rebounding battle 37-14, and we didn’t give up an offensive rebound all night.

“When the girls realized that Claiborne Academy could play with us after the first game, they were locked in. Claiborne Academy has one really good player, and our guards did a really good job on her.”
That focus will surely be present in the playoffs.

The top four teams advance to the Class 2A state tournament, so a first-round win punches a team’s ticket to the next tournament.

But Riverdale wants to win another region title and is laser-focused on making the overall state tournament this year after falling one game short a year ago against Delta Academy in the Class 2A semifinals.

“Our dreams of a state championship are over at that point,” Pittman said. “We talk about that loss all the time, and we use it to motivate us.

“We know once you get to the playoffs, anything can go wrong. Whether that’s injuries or illness (Riverdale had an illness sweep through the team in the playoffs last year).”

This year’s team is certainly battle-tested, loading up on larger schools in the non-district slate.

Riverdale took their lumps with a 7-5 start, but the Lady Rebels started their winning streak against Delta Academy in a 66-34 route on Dec. 13.

A starting lineup tweak in which Hannah Huddleston shifted to the interior and freshman guard Kaleigh Pickett moved into the starting rotation.

Pickett’s shooting ability opens the floor for super point guard Mary Claire Jones, who is comfortable scoring off the bounce, shooting, or distributing to teammates.

“We’ve got five girls who are capable of scoring 20 points on any given night,” Pittman said. “Kaleigh’s shooting ability means that defenses can’t pack it in to stop Mary Claire.

“We did experience some adversity early on this season, but it was great to face those types of teams early on in the schedule. It’s intense basketball, and we’re used to that.”

Assuming Riverdale disposes of Tallulah Academy on Wednesday, another date with Claiborne Academy could be in the cards if the No. 3 seed Rebels skirt past No. 2 seed Tensas Academy.

Perhaps No. 2 seed Briarfield Academy, another Riverdale district opponent, awaits Riverdale in the finals should the Red River Parish continue its winning ways.

And there’s nothing to suggest otherwise.