Riverside wins a thriller against Valley Heights and will now play for a state title, for the second year in a row.

Everyone who scouts or sees Riverside knows, senior Taylor Weishaar is a dominant post and will score a ton of buckets, the question always remains, who will step up alongside Weishaar in these pivotal games. Insert sophomore Ella Wisler, who played huge for the Cyclones. Wisler scored half of the first quarter points for Riverside and proved to be a spark that second year head coach Craig Burnes would lean on.

Riverside grabbed the lead early and wouldn’t relinquish it until the second half, but only for just a moment. The Cyclones led the ‘Stangs by one after the first stanza and extended the lead up to nine in the second frame. Wisler led all scorers with ten first half points while Weishaar had seven to pace the Cyclones who shot 57% at the break.

Valley Heights struggled to score the basketball against the Cyclones, shooting just 20% from the field, unable to get scorers like seniors Delana Murk and Maggie Toerber going as each had just two points at the break. The Mustangs were led by senior Audra Steinfort and sophomore Ava Smith, each with four. Foul trouble was also an issue, as Valley Heights had Murk, Toerber, Steinfort and Smith each with two personal fouls.

In the second half, the script was flipped from the second quarter as Valley Heights ramped up the defensive pressure and forced eight Cyclone turnovers leading to points for the Mustangs. Valley Heights would go on a 13-3 run to grab their first lead of the game at 28-27 with just over a minute to go in the quarter. Riverside would reclaim the lead on a three pointer by senior Abby O’Grady who, for the second straight game, buried three trifectas that would bolster the Cyclone attack.

As we started the final quarter, Riverside clung to a one-point lead of 30-29 and would never give the lead back up. Outscoring the ‘Stangs twenty-three to sixteen in the stanza to win by a final of 53-45. The Cyclones were led by Weishaar who finished with another double-double scoring nineteen points and securing twelve boards, she was named our Citizen’s State Bank & Trust Company of Hiawatha “Player to Bank on”.  Wisler dropped twelve to join Weishaar in double figures, while O’Grady finished with nine and sophomore Niahla Duncan hit six straight free-throws to secure the game for Riverside.

Valley Heights in the come-back effort was led by M. Toerber who finished the game with fifteen points, ten in the fourth quarter. She was named our Farmers State Bank of Onaga “Player to Bank on”.  Smith ended the contest with 11 points, while Steinfort more than doubled her season average with nine points while securing eleven rebounds in the game.

Riverside will now set their sights on securing the program’s first state championship on Saturday at 4:00PM, taking on the winner of Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan or Wichita-The Independent. That game will be broadcast live on 103.9FM KNZA.

The good thing about winning your first game at the state tournament is, even if you lose in the semi-finals, you still get one more chance to end your season with a win. That’s what is in front of Valley Heights, as they will play for third on Saturday against the loser of Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan and Wichita-The Independent. That game will be broadcast live on 92.1FM KMZA.