Lady Raiders drop two
RICH FOWLER
South Ripley girls basketball saw its four-game win streak come to an end last week after a pair of weekend losses to two teams from the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference.
The Lady Raiders were held to just a total of 65 points as part of the two losses. South Ripley had entered the weekend scoring 60-plus points in three of its four wins on the season.
Friday night at home saw visiting Lawrenceburg hold on for a 42-38. South Ripley was led by Kaiya Rinear’s season-high 21 points and eight rebounds but she was the only donning green and white who would reach double figures. Katie Miller scored six points, Lexi Franklin added four points and Emily Parks came up with three points while both Claire Samples and Aubrey Werner were limited to two points apiece.
Samples did post seven rebounds and five assists and Miller had seven rebounds in the loss. Franklin added four boards, three assists and three steals. Lawrenceburg (2-0) got 15 points from Natalie Knigga, 12 points from Kamryn Ferreira and 10 points from Aubree Labazzo.
A major defensive battle on Saturday night turned sour for South Ripley on the road as a fourth quarter meltdown gave way to Batesville picking up a 42-27 victory in a rematch of last year’s Ripley County Tournament Championship.
The two teams only combined to score 18 points in the first half and a 14-10 push by the Lady Raiders allowed them a 22-20 lead going into the final eight minutes. Batesville’s offense in that fourth quarter finally found some footing as South Ripley’s went cold, allowing the Lady Bulldogs a come-from-behind 22-5 surge to push along for a double-digit victory.
Samples finished leading South Ripley with 12 points and a pair of steals while Rinear went for eight points and nine rebounds. Franklin scored four points, Werner sat at two points and Parks put in the final point for the Versailles crew. Miller added on the boards with six rebounds and had a team-high two assists.
Sophie Gesell’s double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds led Batesville and teammate Maddie Haskamp scored 10 points and pulled down six rebounds. Kaylin Kathmann and Marlee Obermeyer each scored five points and both Sydney Campbell and Nora Wiedeman added three points. Campbell had three assists in the victory.
Batesville (3-2) was home against Seymour on Tuesday night and will look forward to a home game on Friday against county rival Jac-Cen-Del and an EIAC game on Saturday afternoon at Connersville.
South Ripley (4-3) is at East Central on Saturday afternoon.
