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Riverview girls basketball finishes section play with win

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 9, 2018 | 11:21 PM

The Riverview girls basketball team clinched a spot in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs Thursday without playing.

Northgate's loss to Sto-Rox meant the Raiders will be back in the postseason after a one-year absence.

But the Riverview players didn't just want to be satisfied with Thursday's result. They wanted to finish the Section 2 slate strong Friday at home against rival Springdale.

From the opening tip, the Raiders made sure their focus was on taking care of the task at hand. Riverview held Springdale scoreless until the midpoint of the second quarter and went on to a 46-20 victory over the Dynamos.

“We really came out strong from the start and played as a team,” said Riverview sophomore guard Alyssa Cappa, who scored 20 by halftime and finished with a game-best 22 points.

Fellow sophomore guard Sydney McDonough added 10 points, and sophomore forward Alivia Schulties scored six in the victory.

Riverview capped its section slate at 7-7, one game ahead of Northgate for the final playoff spot from the section.

The Raiders, 11-9 overall, have won five of their last six games, including Monday's 47-45 victory over the Flames that helped smooth their path to the playoffs. They close out the regular season Monday against Burrell.

On Tuesday, Riverview will see which team it faces in the first round when the playoff brackets and pairings are released.

“We're all anxious to find out who we play and where we play,” Cappa said. “We're all ready to go in strong. Our whole team's here to play.”

Riverview used a mix of pressure defense that forced several Springdale turnovers and aggressive offense that caused a number of Dynamos fouls to jump out to a double-digit advantage four minutes into the game.

“Our focus was to come out and keep playing well like we have been,” Riverview coach Keith Stitt said.

The Raiders led 19-0 at the end of the first quarter and 28-0 in the second before Springdale's Anna Harmon drained a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 3 minutes, 56 seconds left until halftime.

Harmon finished with 17 of the Dynamos' 20 points.

“We've tried to replicate that defensive pressure in practice, but it is tough,” Springdale coach Jon Broderick said. “We're still working on improving our skills and are talking about what we're going to do in the offseason. The girls have played hard all season. We have a ways to go, but the girls are pretty dedicated. We're going to keep working and try to get this ship righted.”

The Riverview and Springdale girls played the second game of a senior-night doubleheader between the schools. In the first game, the Springdale boys squad clinched a WPIAL playoff spot with a 42-29 victory.

“It's really fun when we have the boys and girls games together,” senior McKenzie Smail said. “It was a fun atmosphere. It's always that way when we play Springdale.”

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

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