MUSCODA - On January 7, the Riverdale Lady Chieftains lost a hard-fought road battle against one of the SWAL leaders, Mineral Point.
The Pointers got a quick lead, but once Riverdale settled into their rhythm, the crowd was in for a great match-up. The Chieftains fought back and by the middle of the first half found themselves with a double-digit lead, thanks to a three-point run by McKenzie Couey and Amanda Meister.
Unfortunately, first half foul trouble squelched Couey's streak and put her on the sidelines with the team's most experienced center, Autumn Noble, also in foul trouble. Mineral Point took advantage of the situation to come back, ending the half tied, 34-34.
The Lady Chieftains played hard in the second half, but struggled to find an answer to the Pointer’s 6'3" Jessica Schultz and shooting by Chambers. The Pointers' scrappy defense added to the frustration, and despite Meister's 15 point second half contribution, along with Couey's 10, the Lady Chieftains were unable to rally enough for the victory, losing 65-76.
Leading scorers: Meister-27, Couey-18, and Mau and Macey Klebesadel-7 each.
Top rebounders: Klebesadel-8, Meister-7, Noble-4.
Meister also had 8 assists and 4 steals, and Klebesadel deflected 3 shots.
The Lady Chieftain J.V. was defeated earlier that evening by a very skilled Pointers JV, 24-59.
Leading in scoring: Arellano-9, Johnson-7.
Rebounding: Johnson-5, C.Klebesadel-4, Thomas, Conner, and Werthwein-3 each.
Darlington Redbirds
The Darlington Lady Redbirds came to town on January 12 for more SWAL action.
The Lady Chieftains rebounded well from the previous Thursday's loss and with a team effort, defeated Darlington easily.
Meister was once again on target for another quadruple-double, but fell just a few stats short with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, and 8 steals.
Score leaders: Couey-23, Klebesadel-15, Meister-13, Noble-9, and Herreid-8.
Top rebounders: Klebesadel and Meister-9 each, Herreid-5, and Johnson-4.
Along with Meister's steals, Mau and Klebesadel grabbed three apiece.
The Riverdale Lady Chieftain Junior Varsity again were plagued by turnovers, losing to Darlington 19-71.
Top scorers: Johnson-7, Arellano and Grimm-3 each.
Iowa-Grant
On Friday, January 15, the Lady Chieftains hosted Iowa-Grant.
The Chieftains had another tremendous team effort and minimized turnovers for a season low of 8. Coach Mau tried a variety of lineups in the second half to test different game situations, including running Bailey Conner at point guard for the final minutes of the game. Conner, normally a forward, stepped up to the challenge very well, and despite every effort, Iowa Grant was unable to break Riverdale's stride.
The Lady Chieftains won, 84-33, improving their overall record to 10-3 and 5-2 in the SWAL conference.
Team statistics: Meister-20 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 steals; Klebesadel-17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists; Couey-11 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals; Johnson-11 points, 4 rebounds; Herreid-10 points, 5 rebounds; Noble-4 points, 6 rebounds; Mau-4 points, 4 steals; Drone-2 points, 3 rebounds; and Koch-2 points, 2 rebounds.
The JV faced Iowa Grant for the second time this season and defeated them in double-overtime, 45-40.
Score leaders: Arellano-13, Conner-8, Johnson & Werthwein-7 each, C. Klebesadel and Grimm-5 each.
Rebounding: Johnson-8, Klebesadel-7, Werthwein-6. Steal leader-Arellano-11.
Upcoming games
The Chieftain's game against Weston for Monday, January 18, was cancelled due to weather. The next action is Thursday, January 21, when the Chieftains host the Fennimore Golden Eagles. Riverdale then travels to JustAGame Complex on Saturday to face Brillion in non-conference action. Next week they will take on Cuba City away on Tuesday, January 26, and host Southwestern on Friday, January 29.
