Ridge View’s Nikia Squire guards Richland Northeast’s Sherees Rose. Photo by Marcia Tidwell The Ridge View Lady Blazers continue to make noise in Region 4-4A, toppling the Lady Cavaliers of Richland Northeast, 55-32, Friday, January 27 in the gym at Ridge View.

The victory gives coach Terrance Gibson’s club a 17-4 overall slate, 5-3 in the region and should solidify the 4A No. 6 ranking. Twelve Blazers got in the game to score and junior forward Alexus Jackson led the way with 12 points.

Richland Northeast falls to 3-17 and 0-8 with the loss. Guard Sydney Reed paced the Northeast attack with 15 points. Like any coach, Northeast’s Scott Nelson is not a big fan of moral victories, but given the tough state of the Cavs’ season and a roster that looks like a hospital surgical ward, he sees a silver lining in his team’s continued determined efforts.

“You have to feel good about this—that (Ridge View) was a top ten team in the state...probably better than that,” Nelson said. “We are very short-handed. I counted in the locker room after the game, and we have two girls who are totally healthy. Shareese Rose (four points) has a hamstring pull. She did not practice for two weeks, but she battled through. Our post, Diamond Byous (five points), got a bad finger. She can hardly catch the ball, and she pulled through. We only have one post player. Our four guards played hard and competed. I just can’t say enough about

“I think this game is going to inspire them. I am thrilled with the way they played. Maybe it was not Ridge View’s best game. But to hold them to 55, I am happy as I can be about a loss.”

Northeast actually led the game early in the first quarter when Shelby Mueller hit a 3-pointer to give the Cavs a 5-3 lead. The Blazers ran off 22 points to close the first quarter and would not be seriously challenged.

Coming off a bad loss against Dutch Fork and a victory against Keenan, Gibson said his squad concentrated on getting back to playing consistent Ridge View-style basketball— “good defense, work the ball inside, then get the good shots on the perimeter.” The additional offensive punch came from guards Nikia Squire with nine points, Victoria Marshall with seven, and Jontay Mitchem with seven.

Early trapping on defense set the stage for easy inside buckets and the chance for lots of Blazers to see action.

“ We were trying to play from the inside out,” Gibson explained. “We can shoot the outside shot. We are trying to win now and get the freshmen and sophomores going for next year.