PATCH GROVE – When River Ridge and Cassville met last Thursday night in a Six Rivers West conference girls basketball contest, the host Timberwolves used tough hard-nosed defense to disrupt Cassville’s offensive attack in a 51-26 victory for coach Caron Townsend’s squad.
The win gave River Ridge a league record of 1-1, while coach Martin Kirschbaum’s Comets fell to 0-1 in league play.
At halftime, the host Timberwolves held a convincing lead of 31-10 over the visiting Comets, then went to their bench in the second half, were they outscored their opponent, 20-16.
“We could not put the ball in the basket, and our defense was not very good at all,” said coach Kirschbaum. “River Ridge’s defense had a lot to do with that, because that is who they are, but we did not run any offense very well at all.”
Leading the Timberwolves with 10 points was senior guard Nicole Sturmer, while sophomore Taylor Langmeier added nine points and junior Rachael Herrick chipped in eight.
Cassville got 10 points and five rebounds from sophomore Paige Johll, while junior Madelyn Nix added nine points and five boards. Senior Kennedy McMillan chipped in five points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
Following this past Tuesday night’s home game against Benton, the Comets will host Potosi this Thursday night and then host Argyle next Monday night.
Last Tuesday evening, coach Townsend and her Timberwolves came out of a hard-fought battle against visiting De Soto with a 43-40 non-conference victory.
Trailing the Pirates, 27-24, at the half, River Ridge outscored their opponent, 19-13, in the second half to collect the three-point win.
Sturmer led the charge with a team-high 16 points, while freshman Skylar White added 11 and Langmeier chipped in six.
Following this past Tuesday night’s road game at Highland, the Timberwolves will host Belmont this Friday evening.
River Ridge 43, De Soto 40
(from Tuesday, Dec. 6)
De Soto 27 13 - 40
River Ridge 24 19 - 43
De Soto - Chapes 4, Voelker 6, Wotat 16, Veglahn 14. Totals - 15 6-6 40.
River Ridge - Skylar White 11, Taylor Langmeier 6, Katelyn Quick 2, Rachel Herrick 5, Darion Brooks 1, Nicole Sturmer 16, Maria Breuer 2. Totals - 20 1-6 43.
3-point goals - DS: Veglahn 4; RR: White 1, Herrick 1. Team fouls - DS 13, RR 13. Fouled out - None.
River Ridge 51, Cassville 26
(from Thursday, Dec. 8)
Cassville 10 16 - 26
River Ridge 31 20 - 51
Cassville - Madelyn Nix 9, Amber Iffert 2, Kennedy McMillan 5, Paige Johll 10. Totals - 9 6-10 26.
River Ridge - Skylar White 7, Taylor Langmeier 9, Katelyn Quick 5, Rachael Herrick 8, Darion Brooks 5, Nicole Sturmer 10, Maria Breuer 7. Totals - 21 5-8 51.
3-point goals - C: Johll 2; RR: White 1, Quick 1, Herrick 1, Brooks 1. Team fouls - C 9, RR 13. Fouled out - None.
