Instead of pouting over their first loss in three games to Todd Central, the RHS girls played a strong brand of basketball in beating visiting Allen County-Scottsville 44-40.
Chloe Elam was magnificent in scoring 12 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, including 5 on the offensive end. She also had 6 steals, 3 assists and a blocked shot.
The Lady Cougars won at the foul line, hitting 6 of 11. AC-S was 2 of 5. Caitlin Reeves hit 3 of 4 free throws and Elam 2 of 3. Reeves' last two foul shots came with 3.5 seconds remaining in the game to seal the win.
Reeves' biggest contribution may have come 50 seconds later when she came at a AC-S ball handler with a burst of energy that left the ball in Reeves' hands and the Lady Patriot on the floor in pain. There was no call and Reeves was fouled on the other end. Reagan Leavell banked in a free throw with 36 seconds left to make it 42-36.
Russellville built its lead by hitting 3-pointers. Jane Higgins went four for four from long range in the first 18 minutes of the game. The Lady Panthers had led 6-0, but it was 8-8 after a quarter. AC-S went up by six at 18-12, but Higgins hit a 3-pointer. Then when it was 21-15, she hit another trey. Nakia Daniel followed with a 3-pointer of her own to knot the score at 21-21 at the half. That was the only three Daniel managed in nine tries, but she helped in other ways.
Higgins' 3-pointer was the final goal of the third quarter to make it 31-29 Russellville at the break. Then she hit her fourth three to start the fourth quarter to put the Lady Panthers ahead 34-39. Elam followed with a pair of drives to put RHS up 38-29. The 10-point run gave Coach Dedra Croslin's team a lead it would never relinquish.
“I was really glad to see Jane Higgins break out of her shell,” Croslin said. “Not only did she hit those four 3-pointers, but she really worked on defense, too.”
Allen County-Scottsville was for many years the standard by which other Fourth Region teams measured themselves. A win over the Lady Patriots has been hard to achieve for the Lady Panthers in the past.
Russellville took a 38-35 rebounding margin. Shonay Dandridge supported Elam with 6 while Reeves, Nakia Daniel and Rachea Daniel each had 4.
RHS (8-9 overall, 5-3 region) entertains powerful Franklin-Simpson (12-2) tonight in a girl-boy doubleheader.
Allen County fell to 8-8. 5-4 in the region.
The Lady Panthers then will entertain the other top team in the region Monroe County Monday in the Class A Classic. The boys game will follow.
Score by quarters: 1) 8-8), 2) 21-21, 3) RHS 31-29, Final) Russellville 44, Allen County-Scottsville 40
AC-S (40) Chelsey McHaney 13, H. Harper 9, Heath 6, S. Harper 6, Spurlock 4, Williams 2
RHS (44) Chloe Elam 13, Jane Higgins 12, Caitlin Reeves 9, Nakia Daniel 3, Shonay Dandridge 3, Rachea Daniel 2, Reagan Leavell 2, Posey
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