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Lady Chieftains split at home openers
AutumnNoble v Cuba City
Autumn Noble is fouled coming down with a rebound in last week's 45-48 loss to Cuba City. - photo by Davina Meckley

The Lady Chieftains basketball team opened at home versus Wauzeka-Steuben on Tuesday, December 8, with a dominant first half.  

Offensively Wauzeka struggled to develop any rhythm against Riverdale’s high tempo defense, and defensively they were unable to shut down the shooting of the Lady Chieftain starters.  The Hornets were able to improve their shooting in the second half, but Amanda Meister still had a hot hand to prevent Wauzeka from having any hope for a comeback.  

The Lady Chieftains won the match-up 67-36.

Unprecedented in Lady Chieftain history was the game highlight of Meister accomplishing quadruple-double (double figure stats in four categories):  22 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 steals.  

Macey Klebesadel added 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals, while McKenzie Couey found her shot again, scoring 13.  Other scorers were Mau- 6, Noble-5, Drone-3, and Johnson and Conner with 2 a piece.  Other rebound contributors were Herreid with 6 and Johnson with 5.

The JV won 33-15 with improved second half scoring.  

Arellano led the JV scoring with 18 points, while Conner scored 6 and Carter put in 5.  Leading rebounders were Johnson, C. Klebesadel, Werthwein, and Conner.

Chieftains vs. Cuba City

On Thursday, Riverdale hosted conference leader Cuba City for a major showdown.  

The Cubans started strong, flustering the Lady Chieftains with their quick reads and fast break efforts.  Defensively the Chieftains were sluggish to start and struggled to regain their composure. Then Macey Klebesadel and Mackenzie Herreid sparked the Riverdale offense with some key shots to calm the Lady Chieftains and change the game tempo.  

At the half, the Chieftains were down five points, 16 to Cuba’s 21.  Coach Mau felt the first half defense was the weakest he had seen from this squad this season and looked for a second half turn-around.

Riverdale came out with a bit of cold shooting in the second half, but the defense was much more aggressive and more like the team we know and expect on the court.  Shooting picked up and 90% shooting from the free throw line helped bring this game down to the wire.  

With 1.8 seconds left and down by one, the Lady Chieftains were forced to foul, allowing Cuba to score two free throws.  Couey made a close last second attempt to tie it up but to no avail.

Cuba City won 48-45 in this hard fought rivalry.  

Coach Mau was pleased with the second half performance and has high expectations for the next time the teams are meet up.  

Leading scorers were Meister with 12, Klebesadel-8, Herreid-8, Noble with 7, and Couey and Mau with 5 each.  Klebesadel led the pack for rebounds with 9, followed by Meister with 6 and Noble with 5.  Meister had 8 steals, while Noble blocked 3 shots.  

The Lady Chieftain JV defeated the Cubans 32-20.

Arellano scored 15, Johnson-7, and Werthwein-4 to lead the Chieftains.  Werthwein rebounded 7, Johnson-5 and C Klebesadel had 4.

“Great week, Lady Chieftains!,” Mau said.  

Next up is an away game at Southwestern on Tuesday, Dec. 15, and home game versus Boscobel on Friday, Dec. 18.