Kelsey Harlan

River took to the road on Thursday night, January 27, looking to pick up win number 10 on the season after falling in a close one to Marietta the night before. This one was another tough matchup for the young Pilots, but the outcome was different as the visitors from Hannibal overcame the homecrowd and some tough defense from the Big Reds to pull out a 38-31 victory to improve to 10-6 on the season.

In a contest where the lead changed several times the Pilots put together a strong fourth quarter to put the game away for good. Leading the way was hot shooting junior Rylee Knight knocking in seven baskets for a game high 14 points. Sophomore Kelsey Harlan was right behind her adding 13 points for the Pilots including a 3-pointer. Hanna Raper contributed five points, including 3-4 from the free throw line. Emma Reed knocked in a 3-pointer and freshman Reese Hobbs added three points to round out the scoring for the winners.

Bellaire received 10 points from Horvath, their only player to crack double figures. Ault added eight points including two 3-pointers, while Boner contributed six markers. The Pilots hit 16 shots from the floor and made 4-6 from the charity stripe. Bellaire connected on 10 field goals and was 8-12 mfrom the free throw line.

River drops close one to Marietta

The Lady Pilots put up a good battle on Wednesday night, January 26, on their home floor against a tough Marietta squad, but couldn’t quite pull off the win as the visiting Tigers defeated the Pilots 58-53. The loss was the second this season to the Tigers and dropped the Pilots record to 9-6.

It was a tough matchup throughout with the Tigers holding the lead most of the way, while the Pilots stayed within striking distance with their tough defense, and actually had 22 field goals to the Tigers 20, however the visitors hit 13 shots from beyond the three point line and canned 5-6 free throws which made the difference. River hit five 3-pointers of their own, but struggled at the charity stripe where they hit on just 4-10 tries.

Leading the way for the young pilots was junior Hanna Raper with 13 points and three steals. She was backed by Kelsey Harlan and Rylee Knight who each contributed 10 points giving the Pilots three double figure scorers. Josie Reed also helped with her nine points all coming from beyond the 3-point line. Freshman Resse Hobbs added three field goals for six points and Emma Reed hit for five markers including a three.

Leading scorer in the game was Marietta’s Jacey McKnight who hit for 24 points all from 3-point land. The Tigers had two other double figure scorers in the contest as Laurer hit for 13 points including two 3-pointers and Medley added 12 markers. Wharff ended with nine points with all coming on 3-point shots.

Both teams ended with 17 rebounds, but the hot hand of McKnight and Wharff quelled the River comeback attempts each time the Pilots made a run. River finished with seven turnovers while the Tigers were forced into six errors.