By GEORGE MAHL

RESERVE – The Riverside Academy Lady Rebels did not seem to play with the intensity they needed to play with in order to win. However, they did play well enough in the first half to pick up a 53-42 non-district win over Ridgewood High School Tuesday night at the Rebels Gym.

Leading the way for RA was junior Meggie Martin, who finished with 21 points.

In the first quarter, both schools exchanged baskets. After Lady Golden Eagles starter Page DiMacco sank two free throws, RA’s Crystal Rome came right back and got a three-point play to give the Lady Rebels a 13-6 lead with 2:59 left in the first period.

A three-point bucket courtesy of Danielle Brady cut the Riverside lead to 15-9 as time expired in the first quarter.

Both teams came out in the second period nailing shots from beyond the three-point line. Back to back three-pointers from Ridgewood’s Katie Clark and Page DiMacco pulled RHS to within two points. On the Lady Rebels’ next possession, Rome hit a three from the top of the arc to give the Reserve school a 20-15 lead with 6:03 remaining until the half. A key 9-0 sprint near the end of the half by Riverside was enough to give them a 33-19 cushion with 56 seconds remaining.

During the run, the Metairie school went scoreless for about three minutes. The Lady Golden Eagles cut the RA lead to 33-22 after Brady hit a three-point jumper to close the gap.

Things appeared to be falling apart for the home team during the third quarter. The Lady Rebels only managed to score five points in the quarter. RA hit a dry spell beginning at the 6:27 mark of the third.

An 8-0 run lasting more than five minutes cut the Riverside lead to 38-31 with :25 left in the third quarter. Lady Rebels senior forward Mindy Richard hit a jump shot with seven seconds left in the quarter to give Riverside a 40-31 lead heading into the final quarter.

The Lady Golden Eagles were able to hit several of their shots in the final quarter, but they were not able to do a lot of damage due to free throws made by Riverside.

The Lady Rebels were 9 of 12 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.