Facon and Woods lead Rivercrest past Osceola

WILSON - The Rivercrest Junior Lady Colts battled and came out on top at home against Osceola Monday. The 45-28 win came at the hands of Armani Facon, who scored 14 points, and Aniyah Wood, who hit double figures with 13 points. The Colts defense was impactful. Najaste Richmond led the Noles in scoring with seven points.

Facon made her mark in the first quarter along with Shakyra Gordon, as they combined for seven of the 11 points scored by Rivercrest during the period. This guided them to an 11-6 lead after one.

Osceola's Richmond tallied five of her points in the second quarter, as she scored a basket inside the post and one behind the arc. Despite her effort, the Noles committed costly turnovers which led to easy baskets for Wood and Facon. Taraiji Davis and Reginae Thomas were also able to score, and the halftime score was 24-14 in favor of Rivercrest.

The Junior Lady Noles gained some momentum as the second half opened. They forced a few turnovers for easy looks and hunkered down on defense, allowing just four points in the third quarter. This pulled them within reach, as they faced a 28-22 deficit with a quarter left to play.

However, the Junior Lady Colts burst into the final quarter, with a 9-2 run to take a 37-24 lead after four minutes. Wood broke up a pass, dished it to Thomas, and the 15-point lead from the play seemed to seal the win. Rivercrest ended with a 17-point fourth quarter to cap off the victory.

Rivercrest's Ronnie Dye felt good about his team’s chances given their last meeting with Osceola. “Last time we played, we were able to get a double-digit win, so we had some confidence going into tonight. We brought it to them from the beginning and got the result we were looking for with another win against them.”

Coach Lofton admitted his team had “some rough stretches”, he said, but felt they “showed a lot of effort and energy”. Lofton added, “That’s one positive we can take from this game.”