Matt Vines

Riverdale girls continue state title push, boys fall in quarters
The Riverdale girls basketball team rolled in the Class A state quarterfinals with a 64-17 handling of No. 4 seed and host Columbus Christian on Wednesday.

The Lady Rebels (27-5) surged to an early 22-4 lead by mid second quarter and never looked back.
Riverdale might have revenge on the brain today in the semifinals today against No. 2 seed Marvell Academy, scheduled for a 2:15 p.m. tip.

Marvell ended Riverdale’s quest for a state championship this past season with a 59-56 win in the semifinals.

The Lady Rebels led 56-55 with 20 seconds left, but two missed free throws led to a Marvell opportunity for a game-winning bucket, which did have a tinge of controversy. A Marvell player stepped out of bounds and came back in before making the shot.

Riverdale did go on to win the third-place game and advance to the overall MAIS state tournament that includes all classifications, but the Lady Rebels were denied a 2025 state banner.

Now a group of five seniors led by point guard Mary Claire Jones will take one more swipe at a state banner.

Jones, who surpassed 2,000 career points this season, has virtually every individual honor imaginable, but adding a state title in the return of coach Trey Pittman (third season back at the helm) would be the feather in this senior class’s cap.

The Riverdale-Marvell winner would play the victor of No. 1 seed Desoto School and No. 3 seed Tunica Academy in the Class A state championship game Saturday at 1 p.m.

On the boys side, Riverdale showed their vast improvement from the beginning of the season to the end, but it wasn’t enough Wednesday in a 62-40 loss to No. 1 seed Columbus Christian.

The No. 4 seed Rebels fell behind early 19-9 and never could climb back in the quarterfinals loss.
Lone senior Tanner Carlisle ended his career well past the 1,000-point scoring mark.

Red River basketball ends district play Friday
The district titles are no longer in contention – both the Red River boys and girls basketball teams have written their names down on that ledger.

But today’s doubleheader against Lakeside will close out the district schedule for both squads, and the entire regular season for the girls.

The Lady Bulldogs (18-12) have climbed all the way to No. 8 in Division III Non-Select but might slip a spot or two because of Lakeside’s 5-16 record.

The girls are trying to add to their streak of six wins in their last seven heading to the playoffs.
The boys (17-8) have won eight straight contests and are standing firm at No. 5 in the Division III Non-Select power rankings, although the Bulldogs could also fall because of Lakeside’s 1-20 record.
Red River finishes its last week of the season with a flurry, which includes five games from today to Feb. 21 (next Saturday).

Games include a Saturday date at Parkway, Monday at Calvary Baptist, Tuesday at home against Loyola Prep, Wednesday at home against Homer and Saturday at Ruston.

Red River baseball splits first two games
The Red River baseball team logged its first win of the season Tuesday with a 12-2 decision against Florien after a 5-1 loss to Zwolle on Monday.

The Bulldogs host Converse on Tuesday in a one-game week coming up.

Riverdale anglers capture ninth in West Division tournament
One day after a 28th finish on Toledo Bend in the North Division, the Riverdale pair of Riley Keith and Jase Johnson hooked a ninth-place finish in the LYBN West Division Tournament this past Sunday.

The duo hauled in a catch of 18.14 pounds of bass, learned lessons from the previous day (12.36 pounds).