Scoring streaks lead River View past Red Devils
ST. CLAIRSVILLE - Two spurts sparked the River View girls basketball team Monday evening.
An early 14-1 run made it seem as though the Black Bears would run away with their sectional game against St. Clairsville. That was not the case, however; the Red Devils cut the lead to three in the second quarter.
A run to begin the third quarter pushed the Black Bears' lead to 14 points, and while St. Clairsville would chip away, River View cruised to a 58-47 win in the first round of the sectional playoffs.
"The (runs) were big. I told them at halftime, 'We have to come out and the first three minutes have to be like the first quarter was. We just have to put the nail in the coffin.' We kind of did that. Then we started playing not to lose and they got a little tight, but all in all we are growing up," River View coach Jeff Vickers said.
The Black Bears came out with a new addition to the starting lineup: freshman Sydnee Bice. She was given the start because junior Danielle Muhleman was out with a concussion.
Bice has seen more playing time as the season has progressed, but this was her first career start. Especially with it coming in a playoff game, it was safe to say she was nervous.
"Every time we would warm up, I would think, 'How is this game going to go? Am I going to do good?' " she said.
Bice finished with eight points, four steals, four assists and one rebound, but more importantly, she came up big for the Black Bears in a crucial part of the second quarter.
With their once 14-1 lead down to 24-21 and the St. Clairsville pressure continuing to get the Black Bears out of rhythm, Bice stepped up, scoring or assisting on the next eight points. She did it by simply attacking the press and drawing three fouls in the process, resulting in six of her eight total points.
She added two steals and an assist to Mackenzie Huff, who finished with a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds, during that 8-2 run, which ended with the Black Bears holding a 32-24 lead.
"There are times where a freshman can come out and be a little hesitant to take the bull by the horns. I kept telling her to do so, and she did," Vickers said. "She did a nice job taking a ball to the hole. That threat of attack makes the press not effective."
"I was seeing holes in the press. They weren't playing hard defense so if we attacked them they would either foul or we would make the basket," Bice said.
In the next possession, after an errant pass began rolling back to the half court line, senior Cassidy Whiteus ran back, picked it up and hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Black Bears a nine-point lead going into the break.
"That was big," Vickers said.
In the second half, the Black Bears showed the growth they've experienced all season and continued to hold off St. Clairsville despite the Red Devils battling back and turning up the pressure.
"To fight back and to keep our lead was pretty big for us," Vickers said.
The Black Bears will play Maysville — a team they lost to 68-41 earlier in the season — on Monday in their Division II sectional final game at Ohio University Eastern Campus. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
"I remember we had them in the first half because we kept attacking like we did tonight, and I feel like if we do that again and play some harder defense, we have a chance," Bice said.
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St. Clairsville 15-11-10-11 — 47
River View 20-15-10-13 — 58
St. Clairsville: 22-41 FG, 9-13 FT, 2-4 3pt. (DeFilippo 1) 20 rebounds (Bradshaw 11), 20 turnovers, 7 Assists (Simpson 2), Steals 4 (Reager, Freeman 2). Scoring: DeFilippo 3 6-7 13, Freeman 5 1-3 12, Bradshaw 3 1-2 7, Vincenzo 2 0-0 4, Simpson 1 0-0 2, Heath 1 0-0 2.
River View: 22-54 FG, 13-20 FT, 1-8 3pt. (Cassidy Whiteus 1) 30 rebounds (Huff 12), 13 turnovers, 13 Assists (Lahna, Bice 3), Steals 11 (Bice 4). Scoring: Huff 8 5-7 21, Lahna 6 0-2 12, Bice 1 6-6 8, Cydney Whiteus 4 0-2 8, Cassidy Whiteus 2 2-3 7, Hammond 1 0-0 2.