River Ridge girls ring in new year with home wins over Highland and Seneca
River Ridge ninth grader Erin Adrian battles for a rebound in front of teammates Mandi Wehrle (5) and Melissa Sletten (10). (Derick Kelly/Courier Press)
By A.J. Gates
With double-doubles from both Reghan Zinkle and Shayna Graf, the River Ridge Timberwolves handed visiting Highland a 47-34 loss last Thursday night in Six Rivers West girls basketball action.
The win moved coach Veronica Zinkle’s Timberwolves to a league record of 2-2 and overall mark of 9-4, while handing the Cardinals (3-1, 9-4) their first conference loss of the season.
After holding a halftime lead of 24-16, the River Ridge ladies outscored their opponent 23-18 in the second half to secure a 13-point victory.
Junior Reghan Zinkle led River Ridge with 15 points and 10 rebounds to go along with two assists and a team-high three steals. She was 5-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
Senior Shayna Graf added 12 points and 12 rebounds in Thursday night’s win, going 4-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-5 from downtown.
Chipping in eight points and six rebounds was junior Mandi Wehrle, while Melissa Sletten dished out a team-high five assists to go along with five points.
As a team, River Ridge made 14-of-51 (27.4 percent) total shot attempts, including 8-of-26 (30.7 percent) from downtown. They were 11-of-22 (50 percent) from the free throw line and came away with eight steals.
Last Tuesday night the Timberwolves hosted Seneca in a non-conference contest, defeating the Royals in convincing fashion, 66-21.
Shayna Graf netted a team-high 16 points, going 5-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. She also chipped in four rebounds and three assists in the win.
Right behind her with 15 points was Mandi Wehrle, who was 3-of-6 from downtown and 3-of-6 from inside the 3-point arc. She also had four rebounds and two steals for the Timberwolves.
Melissa Sletten added 11 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Only two girls for Seneca scored, as Nadia Klema had a team-high 14 points, followed by Aylah Baker with seven.
As a team the Timberwolves made 26-of-68 (38.2 percent) total shot attempts, including 9-of-26 (34.6 percent) from long range. They were 5-of-12 (41.6 percent) from the free throw line
River Ridge will travel to Potosi/Cassville on Friday, Jan. 12 to take on the Chieftains in conference action.
