Riverside Girls basketball pivoting in the right direction

January 5th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

For most teams a six-point loss and a two-game losing streak just stings. However, for Riverside Head Coach Mitch Rice and the (5-4) Bulldogs they came away with optimism after a 48-42 loss against the top Western Iowa conference team Treynor. The Bulldogs played the Cardinals as close as anyone in the WIC this year and gave Coach Rice an opportunity to show his young team the potential they’ve been playing with.

Coach Rice is candid about the youth of his squad. Out of the 13 players on the roster, 7 of them are freshman. With so many freshmen in a 10-player rotation, it has brought slight growing pains this season and yet Riverside still has wins over Essex, IKM-Manning, Griswold, Missouri Valley, and Red Oak. That level of success had Coach Rice explain to his team that after Christmas break nobody will be viewed as a freshman. The expectations will only increase for this group.

A player that has met expectations for Riverside is junior Elly Henderson who has played selfless basketball. Second on the team in assists with 18 and leading scorer at 58 points. Coach Rice wants to see her attack the basket more and hone her offensive ability.

Sydney Somers is another freshman on this Bulldog’s team that impressed Coach Rice with her work effort throughout the season. Somers is second on the team with rebounds at 33 and tied at second in scoring with 53.