Riverdale (TN) scored a come-from-behind 63-59 victory over South Forsyth (GA) in the opening round of the 2014 CresCom Bank Holiday Invitational.
Trailing by 13 at 42-29 with 13:31 to play in the second half, Riverdale turned up the defensive pressure during a 21-7 run that would give the Lady Warriors the lead at 50-49 with 7:05 to play. During the run, Riverside (10-1; Murfreesboro, TN) connected on 6-of-9 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line while forcing South Forsyth (9-1; Cummings, GA) into six turnovers and just 3-of-9 from the field.
KK Storms regained the lead for South Forsyth with a 3-pointer with 5:58 to play to start a stretch where the game was tied or the lead changed hands nine times down the stretch. With 2:22 to play, Sarah Myers’ 3-pointer gave South Forsyth what would prove to be its last lead of the contest at 59-58. Alesis Whittington connected on a jumper in the paint with 2:00 on the clock to give Riverdale a 60-59 advantage. Anastasia Hayes stretched the lead to 62-59 on a pair of free throws with 18 seconds on the clock. Followinga timeout by South Forsyth, Storms turned the ball over and Jasmyne Hurd hit one of two from the free throw line to ice the victory with nien seconds remaining.
Riverdale connected on 51.2 percent (21-41) from field for the contest, including 60.0 percent (12-20) during the second half. The Lady Warriors also connected on 20-of-23 from the free throw line. Hayes led Riverdale with 26 points while Brinae Alexander added 14 points.
South Forsyth, which shot an impressive 25-of-50 (50%) from the field, was paced by Myers’ 20 points, seven rebounds and five steals.
