A tough night in the nest
The lady Riverhawks suffered multiple setbacks Wednesday, Jan. 23 against the LCC Titans with a 75-53 loss, dropping their record to 4-2 in the NWAACC and 14-5 overall. During the first half, the ‘Hawks kept the game close with an up-tempo offense. Using the momentum of early turnovers that led to fast break points, the ‘Hawks were down by four.
Lane, chief rival to the women's team, played a tough game from the start.
“Lane used the full court press to slow down our offense,” guard Rachel Sample said. With a high tempo, run-and-gun offense like the Riverhawks use, a slower pace can throw off timing and shake up the game plan the team has been working on.
The game shifted drastically with three minutes left in the first half after forward Hayley Reynolds left the game with a knee injury.
“When Hayley got hurt, it just sucked the energy out of the whole building. We didn’t recover. It’s like we lost a family member. Hayley's injury has thrown us out of sync. It’s like starting over,” coach Dave Stricklin said. “Hayley is a very high energy player, she has a high motor. She plays extremely hard, and that feeling is contagious.”
Hayley tore her ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and is out for the last six weeks of the regular season. However, she is currently undergoing rehabilitation and physical therapy. She hopes to be back for the NWAACC tournament taking place March 2-5 in Kennewick, Wash.
Stricklin went on to say, “As a team, we fed off Hayley's energy. She always fights hard for loose balls. We need to replace that energy if we’re going to be successful.”
Kyndal Charleston led the Lady Riverhawks with 20 points and Shannon Jackson had a team high 11 rebounds.
The women will host SWOCC Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. at home. Students can attend with $1 admission.