Haroski, Trickett lead Warriors to first region title since 2010
The Lady Warriors celebrate in the locker room after finding out they’d won the region championship for the first time in 13 years.
Kyndal Haroski can’t lie: She didn’t call bank.
In the third quarter of Friday’s region finale against Greer, Riverside’s star shooting guard put up a three from the left wing. Her shot hit off the backboard and fell through the net.
It’s nothing new for Haroski, who’s closing in on 100 made threes for the season. But this banked-in three-pointer, whether she knew it or not, was monumental.
Those three points made Haroski the Lady Warriors’ all-time leading scorer.
She’s just a sophomore.
“I’m proud of all the hard work I’ve put in to be able to accomplish this at such a young age,” said Haroski. “I honestly didn’t know until after the game that I’d broken that record, but it means a lot.”
Haroski’s record-breaking three was only the cherry on top of what turned into a night to remember for the Lady Warriors. They cruised to a 58-35 win over cross-town rival Greer to finish 7-1 in the region.
“We went into this game confident we were going to win,” said Haroski. “If we play our game, there aren’t many teams that can beat us. So it was just about staying poised. We didn’t let anything get to us.”
Sophomore Kyndal Haroski banked in a third-quarter three against Greer to become Riverside’s all-time leading scorer.
As memorable as the blowout win was, the best part of the Lady Warriors’ evening came 10 minutes after the game.
Going into Friday’s game, Riverside knew it needed Wade Hampton to lose to Eastside to clinch the outright 4-A Region 2 championship. That game went final while the Lady Warriors were in the locker room postgame. Final score: Eastside 67, Wade Hampton 54.
The girls screamed and exploded into celebration. Riverside had captured its first outright region title since 2010.
“As a coach, there’s nothing I love more than seeing these girls reach their goals,” said Riverside head coach Brianne Jones. “In the past, we’ve had goals but always came up second. Tonight was almost like a relief, because all of their blood, sweat, and tears have finally paid off.”
“We’re really excited, but we also know we have a lot to still look forward to in the playoffs,” said Riverside forward Elly Trickett, who led the Lady Warriors in scoring against Greer with 15 points. “This is exciting, don’t get me wrong, but this isn’t our end goal. We’ve got a lot more important things left to do starting Tuesday.”
The Lady Warriors begin their Class 4-A playoff journey with a home game against Indian Land on Feb. 13. By winning the region, they clinched a No. 1 seed and home-court advantage in the playoffs.
THE SCORE BY QUARTERS
Riverside 14 12 18 14 - 58
Greer 8 5 14 8 - 35
RIVERSIDE STAT LEADERS
Elly Trickett - 15 points, 10 rebounds
Kyndal Haroski - 10 points
Madison Garrido - 8 points, 6 rebounds
Sophia Powell - 7 points, 8 rebounds