Riverdale reached its seventh state tournament with a significant streak on the line. No Riverdale girls basketball team has ever not reached the finals when it made it to the state tournament.
That streak stayed alive with a 70-55 win over Morristown West to set up a semifinal showdown with Memphis Central. Riverdale is 17-2 in the state tournament. The school has four state titles (2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013) and runnerup finishes in 1979 and 2011.
Spotted: Tennessee women’s basketball coach Holly Warlick was spotted at Murphy Center during Riverdale’s win over Morristown West. Warlick was sitting with Murfreesboro resident Celeste Middleton, who is the mother of Tennessee sophomore Alexa Middleton, a former Riverdale player.
Tennessee has offered Riverdale junior Anastasia Hayes.
What’s in a name: Wednesday’s Class A quarterfinal between Community and Perry County featured a pair of Midstate schools nicknamed the Vikings.
Well, not exactly.
Community, which captured a decisive victory over the Perry County Lady Vikings, is referred to as the Viqueens.
“I don’t know, but I like it,” Community senior Lacey Reed said of the team’s nickname. “It’s kind of crazy.”
“We thought it was in the dictionary,” teammate Sarah Pierce added jokingly.
Strength in numbers: Dickson County was knocked out of the Class AAA tournament in a 57-54 loss to Bradley Central, and it may have had to do with the Lady Cougars’ lack of depth.
Of the 24 teams in the state tournament, Dickson County brought the smallest roster, featuring just 10 players — half the size of Westview’s.
Welcome to the club: Community’s Reed, a 6-foot senior, registered her 1,000th career point early in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s victory. The Community students were quick to show their support, hoisting signs with the number 1,000 immediately following her free throw at the 6:40 mark.
“It feels really good to look up there and see that I scored my 1,000th, but I was still focused on winning the game,” Reed said.
Fresh faces: Dyer County in Class AAA, East Nashville in Class AA and Van Buren County in Class A are making their first state tournament appearance.
Two of the state’s most-storied programs — Bradley Central and South Greene, which have combined to win eight state titles — each registered their 28th state tournament appearance with last Saturday’s sectional victories.
The Daily News Journal’s Tom Kreager contributed to this report.
Wilson Central coach John Wild directs his players against Memphis Central during the second half of the Class AAA girls quarterfinals on March 9, 2016. Memphis Central won 48-43.