The result was not what Rutherford County wanted but you got to tip your hat to Riverdale (34-2) and Memphis Central (29-9) for each putting three great games together in State Tournament play.
The final, won by Memphis Central 72-59 was a classic featuring so many fine players that I can’t name them all; and almost all return next year. Amazing!
In this one, again RHS got off to a slow start but finally got a small three-point halftime lead and kept it for the third quarter; but it was the fourth quarter that was the red and gold’s undoing.
Make no mistake, Riverdale’s MVP for this tournament was Tyisha Petty and she was injured in a totally accidental collision early in the fourth quarter.
Without Petty, who had 53 points in the tournament, Riverdale quickly lost the lead and the game. It is very possible that RHS might have lost anyway – we will never know.
This game was physical, with many fouls (38), a ton of fast breaks, and all but one major stat was close.
Riverdale had 33 rebounds, Central 40, both squads had two blocks and Riverdale had 12 steals to Central’s 10.
Riverdale had 11 assists to Central’s seven and Riverdale had 14 turnovers to Central’s 18 in the fast paced game.
Unfortunately shooting was another matter.
Riverdale was 23 of 64 (36 percent) from the floor (two for 18 in 3s) and a solid 11 of 17 from the line.
Memphis Central shot 24 of 49 (49 percent) from the floor (two of five in 3s) and a very good 22 of 29 from the line.
The State Tournament loss for Riverdale was their first since 1979 and their first since the game went to five-on-five. For Memphis Central it was their first state title since 1922.
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