Matt Vines

STEENS, Miss. – The Riverdale girls basketball team relied on their technical superiority to put together a memorable season that included an appearance in the Class A state title game Saturday.

But the No. 1 seed Lady Rebels couldn’t match No. 2 seed DeSoto’s athleticism and size as the Lady T-Birds fended off multiple Riverdale comeback attempts in a 52-41 win.

Riverdale cut DeSoto’s lead to nine points twice in the fourth quarter, including with 3:30 remaining (45-36) on a Mary Claire Jones 3-pointer.

But the Lady T-Birds answered on the next possession in each of those situations to protect their edge.
The latter answer came in the form of a Kylee Jo Holder 3-point play in which Holder traveled the length of the court.

“Their size and athleticism was the difference in the game,” said Riverdale coach Trey Pittman. “We couldn’t finish at the rim because of their 6-foot-3 post and couldn’t contain dribble drives from their guards.

“It’s a tough combo to contain.”

The Lady T-Birds were able to penetrate through the Riverdale defense in the open floor at times, creating easier chances than Riverdale’s offenses who almost always had to operate in the halfcourt.
The Lady Rebels (28-6), who were seeking their first state title since 2018, couldn’t pressure DeSoto and force turnovers to which they are accustomed.

“They didn’t have live ball turnovers,” Pittman said. “We just couldn’t get easy baskets and just didn’t force enough turnovers to make a good run.

“We probably had our worst shooting performance of the year as well.”

Both Jones and Holder scored a game-high 19 points to lead their respective teams.

DeSoto opened a double-digit lead quickly in the first half and maintained it through most of the game, although Riverdale didn’t allow the Lady T-Birds to run away with the contest.

Riverdale leaned on Jones’ sharp shooting to reach the title game as the Lady Rebels knocked off Marvell Academy in the semifinals, 62-49.

Jones dropped 31 points in the semifinals win as Riverdale beat a Marvell bunch that ended the Lady Rebels’ bid for a state title in 2025 in the semifinals.

“We shot it extremely well against Marvell and also got an incredible performance off the bench from senior Charity Williamson with Makayla Pickett in foul trouble,” Pittman said.

The five-member senior class of Jones, Williamson, Pickett, Julia Grace Riggs, and Hanna Huddleston will get one more shot on the court this season.

Jones, Huddleston and Riggs were selected to the Class A all-tournament team.

As the Class A runner-up, Riverdale advances to the MAIS overall state tournament which pits schools of all sizes against each other.

Riverdale draws Class 4A Division II champion Madison-Ridgeland Academy in the opening round on Wednesday at 1:45 p.m. at Mississippi College.

Riverdale remains the only program from the smallest classification to win the overall state program, which they did in 2003 in Pittman’s first stint (2001-04).