Menu
Lady Royals Christmas Classic: Twin Rivers wins over Malden in first round
BROSELEY, Mo. - As the Holidays draw near, more basketball tournaments take place in Southeast Missouri.
Saturday was the wake of the Lady Royals Christmas Classic at Twin Rivers High School. In the first round of action, host school Twin Rivers took down the Malden Green Wave with a final score of 60-49.
Royals head coach Michael Snider was excited to get this tournament underway and push his team into the winner’s bracket.
“Hosting this tournament is always fun,” Snider said. “It’s always a really competitive girl’s basketball tournament and it’s the largest in our area. It’s exciting and I love it. I look forward to it every year and I think a lot of these schools look forward to it every year.”
According to Snider, any win in this tournament is a big win with the level of competition involved.
Malden entered the Lady Royals Christmas Classic on a four-game winning streak, which Snider’s team was looking to snap. They came out strong against the Green Wave, leading 15-10 in the first quarter.
However, Malden bounced back in the second quarter limiting the Royals to only seven points while scoring 11 of their own.
After one half of play, Malden was only trailing by one point with the score being 22-21. Freshman Mynena Thornton was the top scorer for Malden with eight points in the first half to keep her team within striking distance.
The third quarter was still close, as Twin Rivers only outscored Malden 14-12. This time, senior Mariah Loyah carried the Green Wave out of the break. She had 10 of Malden’s 12 points in the third quarter, knocking down two three-pointers.
However, the Royals' 24 points in the fourth quarter helped put Malden away at the end.
Freshman Ivy Benson and sophomore Lilly Oliver took over for Twin Rivers. Both of these underclassmen finished with 17 points against Malden.
For Malden, Loyah ended up being their top scorer with 15 points which kept Twin Rivers on their toes. It ended up being the closest match of the tournament so far.
“Coach [Tye] Miller had Malden ready to play tonight,” Snider said. “I was impressed with them. They have been faced with some adversity early on in the season with the passing of coach [Ron] Riddle and that is not easy for anyone. Coach Riddle was a great person and a great coach.”
Ron Riddle, slated to enter his second year as Malden’s head coach, passed away right at the pre-season while battling cancer.
Even with this loss, Snider said he has a lot of respect for the Green Wave program Riddle developed before his passing.
“All competitiveness aside, my heart goes out to all those girls, the school and the community,” Snider said. “I’m rooting for those girls and Coach Miller the rest of the way. They are a great team and they will only keep getting better.”
Other scores:
Holcomb lost to Poplar Bluff 53-27. Senior Chloe Hendrix led the Hornets with 11 points.
Kennett beat New Madrid County Central 56-43. Sophomores Alyce Edwards had 22 points while Brooklynn Edwards had 16 points. Senior Aneka Farmer also finished in double digits with 13 points.