By Tom Kreager
Daily News Journal
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Cleveland coach Rachel Moore’s strategy was to stop Shacobia Barbee and contest Riverdale’s outside shooting.
The Lady Raiders slowed Barbee but couldn’t stop Riverdale’s outside bombers in the Class AAA girls’ state basketball sectional Saturday night. The Lady Warriors hit 11 3-point baskets in a 62-41 rout.
UT-Martin signee Jaclissa Haislip made six 3s and finished with a game-high 21 points. She had struggled recently from the outside.
“I’ve been coming in shooting, trying to get my shot back,” Haislip said. “It kicked in at just the right time.”
Q’Schara Brown led Cleveland (24-10) with 14 points. Teammate Jessica King added 10.
Third-ranked Riverdale (27-2) extended its win streak to 23 games while avenging a 57-51 November loss.
This week’s state-tournament appearance will be the Lady Warriors’ first since winning the championship in 2007.
Riverdale erupted for five 3-pointers in the third quarter to extend an 11-point halftime lead to 46-26. Haislip was 3-of-3 on 3s in the quarter, and senior Natalie Lanning made the other two.
“We put the right people in the right spots,” Riverdale coach Hillary Hodges said.
Junior Ashley Henry hit back-to-back 3s late in the first half to snap a 1-of-10 drought from the arc and kick-start Riverdale’s perimeter game.
“Our hope was to contain Barbee and contest 3s,” Moore said. “We didn’t do a good job contesting 3s midway through the second quarter and the entire second half. For them, when you make two or three, that just opens up the door.”
Cleveland held sophomore Barbee to 12 points as it played a sagging zone defense through much of the game, until Riverdale forced the Lady Raiders to come out of it with its 3-point shooting.
“We’ve been working all week because Coach told us we they may zone us,” Haislip said. “We were shooting all week, so we were ready for it.”
Both teams struggled offensively early in the game. Riverdale hit seven straight free throws to break a 6-6 tie after the first quarter and grab a 13-6 lead. The Lady Warriors never allowed the lead to dip below five.