PATCH GROVE – After holding a halftime lead of 30-20 over the visiting Cardinals of Highland last Thursday night, coach Caron Townsend’s Timberwolves put the clamps on their opponent in the second half, allowing just 14 more points in a 51-32 River Ridge victory.
With the win, Townsend’s Timberwolves improved to 3-2 in the Six Rivers West conference, and 11-2 overall, and after traveling to Belmont this past Tuesday night, will host Benton on Friday.
Against Highland, River Ridge jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first five minutes of action, but then saw the Cardinals pull to within 12-11 with 10:19 to play in the opening half.
The Timberwolves put together another scoring run late in the first half, taking their largest lead of 28-26 with 1:22 to play in the first half.
In the second half, coach Townsend’s squad focused on closing the game out on defense, and outscored the Cardinals, 21-14, for a convincing 19-point victory.
Leading River Ridge with 15 points was senior Rachael Herrick, who knocked down three 3-pointers, while Taylor Langmeier and Skylar White each chipped in 11 points and Maria Breuer eight.
Prior to last Thursday night’s conference game, the Timberwolves had a string of three non-conference victories, two coming at the North Crawford Holiday Tournament on Friday, Dec. 29, and another against De Soto on Tuesday, Jan. 2.
At the North Crawford Holiday Tournament, the Timberwolves knocked off Iowa-Grant, 48-33, then defeated Juda, 69-29.
Against Iowa-Grant, Langmeier poured in a team-high 15 points to 13 for White, while Allison Ploessl chipped in seven and Breuer six.
In their 40-point victory over Juda, White scored a team-high 15 points, while Breuer added 14, Langmeier 12 and Herrick nine.
Last Tuesday night, the Timberwolves traveled to De Soto, where they held a halftime lead of 43-9, only to beat the Pirates, 69-16.
Skylar White netted a team-high 21 points in the lop-sided victory, while sophomore McKenzie Graf added 10, followed by eight from Breuer and seven from Ploessl.
River Ridge 48, Iowa-Grant 33
(from the North Crawford Holiday
Tournament on Friday, Dec. 29)
River Ridge 21 27 - 48
Iowa-Grant 14 19 - 33
River Ridge - Skylar White 13, Taylor Langmeier 15, Rachael Herrick 3, Allison Ploessl 7, Maria Breuer 6, McKenzie Graf 4. Totals - 20-61, 5-7 48.
Iowa-Grant - Kenzie Oakes 8, Katie Olson 3, Olivia Liddicoat 20, Annie Spurley 2. Totals - 12 6-10 33.
3-point goals - RR: 3-21 Herrick 1, White 2; IG: 3-12 Oakes 2, Olson 1. Team fouls - RR 13, IG 11. Fouled out - Herrick (RR).
River Ridge 69, Juda 29
(from the North Crawford Holiday
Tournament on Friday, Dec. 29)
River Ridge 43 26 - 69
Juda 18 11 - 29
River Ridge - Faith Schier 2, Skylar White 15, Taylor Langmeier 12, Allison Ploessl 5, Rachael Herrick 9, Rylee Zinkle 3, Maria Breuer 14, McKenzie Graf 7, Chloe Stagman 2. Totals - 29-48 6-8 69.
Juda - Byrne 5, Ducker 8, Kammerer 1, Powers 2, Steinman 13. Totals - 8 12-20 29.
3-point goals - RR: Graf 1, Herrick 2, White 1, Zinkle 1; J: Steinman 1. Team fouls - RR 12, J 4. Fouled out - None.
River Ridge 69, De Soto 16
(from Tuesday, Jan. 2)
River Ridge 43 26 - 69
De Soto 9 7 - 16
River Ridge - Riley Zinkle 3, Faith Schier 4, Skylar White 21, Taylor Langmeier 6, Allison Ploessl 7, Rachael Herrick 5, Maria Breuer 8, Bayli Mason 3, McKenzie Graf 10, Chloe Stagman 2. Totals - 27-51 10-13 69
De Soto - Boardman 2, Norvik 1, Gianoli 3, Anderson 2, Brosinski 4, Jarzemski 3, Kunert 1. Totals - 5 5-7 16
3-point goals - RR: Graf 2, Herrick 1, White 1, Zinkle 1; DS: Gianoli 1. Team fouls - RR 10, DS 10. Fouled out - None.
River Ridge 51, Highland 32
(from Thursday, Jan. 4)
Highland 20 14 - 32
River Ridge 30 21 - 51
Highland - Morgan Drury 2, Megan Mueller 3, Morgan Kosharek 2, Carlee Kosharek 2, Kylie Esser 10, Maddie Drury 10, Myah Hennessey 3. Totals - 10 11-17.
River Ridge - Skylar White 11, Taylor Langmeier 11, Allison Ploessl 6, Rachael Herrick 15, Maria Breuer 8. Totals - 21 4-5 51.
3-point goals - H: M. Drury 1; RR: White 1, Langmeier 1, Herrick 3. Team fouls - H 13, RR 15. Fouled out - None.
