Game 3 – Riverside, SC 67, South Greene 63

(Game 3) Riverside, SC 67, South Greene 63

The defending South Carolina Class 4A state champions, Riverside of Greer, S.C., withstood a furious fourth quarter comeback by South Greene and beat the Lady Rebels 67-63 Thursday night.

Down by as many as 19 points in the second quarter, the Rebels used an aggressive defense in the second half to begin chopping away at the Warriors’ lead and got it all the way down to a single point with two minutes left in the game. The Rebs got the ball back with a chance to go ahead but a turnover followed by a couple of mistakes allowed the Warriors to go to the foul line and maintain their slim advantage.

Madison Garrido used a strong first half to get the Warriors into a 42-27 halftime advantage. Garrido finished the night with 26 points, including six 3-pointers. Elly Trickett had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Warriors (9-1).

The youthful Lady Rebels were led by Kortnei Bailey with a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds. Samantha Birdwell scored 16, including back-to-back treys during the fourth quarter rally. Arianna Hoese scored 14.

Down by 57-48 with 6:20 left, the two 3-pointers by Birdwell got it down to a 57-54 margin, then Bailey tallied five points with the last one cutting the deficit to 62-61. But the Rebs (5-5) were never able to push into the lead.

RIVERSIDE, SC (67): Madison Garrido 10-17 0-2 26, Lagrange 0-4 5-14 5, Mangum 0-4 0-0 0, Powell 3-6 2-2 8, Bache 2-4 0-2 4, McGatha 0-0 2-2 2, Poe 2-4 0-2 4, Elly Trickett 6-14 5-5 18. TOTALS: 23-53 14-29 67.

SOUTH GREENE (63): Gabbard 0-1 0-0 0, Davis 1-4 0-0 3, Kortnei Bailey 8-14 3-4 19, Foshie 0-7 0-0 0, Hensley 3-11 0-0 7, Samantha Birdwell 5-15 3-4 16, Arianna Hoese 5-12 0-0 14, Brobeck 2-3 0-0 4. TOTALS: 24-67 6-8 63.

3-Point Goals: RS—7 (Garrido 6, Trickett). SG—9 (Hoese 4, Birdwell 3, Davis, Foshie).