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Riverdale beats Oak Ridge 68-36 for 3rd AAA title in 5 years

Riverdale players celebrate their 68-36 win against Oak Ridge in the Tennessee Division I AAA girls high school basketball championship game Saturday, March 12, 2016, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski) Riverdale players celebrate their 68-36 win against Oak Ridge in the Tennessee Division I AAA girls high school basketball championship game Saturday, March 12, 2016, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

By Associated Press March 12, 2016 1 min read

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) – MVP Anastasia Hayes scored 27 points in leading Riverdale to its third Tennessee Class AAA girls title in five years with a 68-36 win over Oak Ridge on Saturday afternoon.

The Lady Warriors (32-4) also won championships in 2012 and 2013, and a team from Riverdale has won the past five titles, including Blackman the past two seasons. Riverdale’s title comes a year after being banned from the postseason for attempting to purposely lose a district game to avoid playing Blackman in a regional semifinal.

This season, Riverdale upset top-ranked Blackman 73-66 in a regional semifinal to advance.

Riverdale set a state tournament record shooting 59.7 percent over three games.

Alexis Whittington added 14 points, and Brinae Alexander 10 for Riverdale en route to its fifth title.

Mykia Dowdell led Oak Ridge (29-5) with 12 points.

Riverdale took a 25-5 lead early in the second quarter and Oak Ridge never got closer than 14.