Lady Rebels make dramatic comeback over Shoshoni, take third in conference

By MARLYS GOOD
“I think we can beat them …” said Coach Michael McGuire last week looking forward to the Shoshoni game Friday. Coach McGuire had no idea that “beating them” would come from a 28-point scoring surge in the fourth quarter that propelled his team to the 44-33 victory.
“It was as good a quarter as I’ve ever seen or been a part of — as a player, as a coach. … To come at that time it was pretty remarkable,” McGuire said with excitement in his voice.
The run came after Riverside had scored just four points in the second quarter and went scoreless in the third quarter and Shoshoni seemed to have things well in hand with a 29-16 lead. But no one told the Lady Rebels that.
“Our defense in the fourth quarter was amazing,” McGuire said. “It was as hard as we have played all year; we got a lot of turnovers and turned them into points for us.” Riverside also went straight to the boards with freshmen Brittany Vigil and Cydnie Clark “playing with a lot of energy. We had 22 offensive rebounds and a lot of those were in the fourth quarter — Chancey Rollins, Michelle Hovey, Amber Getzfreid, Brittany, Cydnie. I think we decided right then that it was now or never. The girls dug down and went for it.”
 Go for it they did. The Lady Rebels opened the fourth with a 11-1 run capped by a 3-pointer by Amber Getzfreid that cut Shoshoni’s lead to 30-27.  A travel violation gave the ball back to Riverside and Getzfreid scored, was fouled and converted the free throw to tie it up at 30 with 3:59 left to play. C. Rollins gave Riverside the lead when she hit a free throw.
The Lady Blue responded at the other end with free throws on consecutive plays to retake the lead at 33-31. But that was the swan song for Shoshoni as the Rebels scored the next 13 points. It was a team effort, steals by Getzfreid and Chelsea Longshore, assists by Hovey and Vigil and baskets by Clark, Hovey and Rollins. Riverside’s final four points came from free throws by Getzfreid and Vigil.
“It was a great team effort by the girls, especially in the fourth quarter. They had really struggled making baskets in the first three quarters; they wouldn’t fall. They kept their heads up, kept fighting and in the fourth quarter decided they wanted it and went after it. Every girl on the floor contributed and gave us good minutes.”
Getzfreid led the scoring with 15 points and Hovey chipped in another nine. On the boards, it was Hovey with nine rebounds, Vigil, eight, C. Rollins  seven and Clark with six.
The fast and furious pace took its toll, both physically and emotionally and it showed Saturday and they played “flat” against Burlington. “It started OK,” McGuire said, “but we were kind of drained. Shoshoni took a lot out of us.” Getzfreid scored 11 of Riverside’s points.
Regional preview
Beating Shoshoni gave Riverside the third-place seed from the north in the 2A West Regional Tournament and as the third seed they’ll play Kemmerer at  3:45 p.m. today (Thursday) at Central Wyoming College in Riverton.
“I think Kemmerer is a team we can play with and beat; it’s a good draw for us and we’re really excited to get down there; we’re ready to play.” McGuire said.
The Lady Rangers have “a pretty balanced team, maybe a little bigger than we are, but we have speed and quickness. I think it’ll come down to tempo and playing our style. The main thing on offense, we have to take care of the basketball and be aggressive. Defensively, we have to make teams play our style of ball; make them play faster than they want to. So many teams down there are pretty similar talent-wise, I think it’ll come down to who plays the best and who wants it more. Hopefully that’s us. I’m excited and I know the girls are, too,” he said.

Riverside 44, Shoshoni 33
Riverside: Chancey Rollins 4, Amber Getzfreid 15, Michelle Hovey 9, Sasha Rollins 6, Brittany Vigil 4, Cydnie Clark 6. FG: 15-42. 3-POINTERS: 1-12 (Getzfreid). FT: 22-28. REBOUNDS: 35 (Vigil 8, Hovey 7, C. Rollins 6, Clark 5). ASSISTS: 6 (Hovey 3). STEALS: 14 (Getzfreid 6. BLOCKS: 3 (Vigil). TURNOVERS: 15. FOULS: 17.
Riverside:  12    4   0  28 - 44
Shoshoni: 1 1  11   7    4 - 33
Riverside 18, Burlington 49
RIVERSIDE: Getzfreid 11,  Carly Jeffers 2, Vigil 2, S. Rollins 2, Hovey 1. FG: 3-23; 3-POINTERS: 1-6 (Getzfreid). FT: 9-17. REBOUNDS: 22 *Hovey 6, Longshore 4, S. Rollins 3). ASSISTS: 3. STEALS: 14  (Getzfreid 6, Hovey 3). BLOCKS: 1 (S. Rollins). TURNOVERS: 33. FOULS: 11.
Riverside:       6  3    2   7 - 18
Burlington:  16  9  15  9 - 49