Arlington girls eliminated by three-time defending champ Riverdale in quarterfinals

MURFREESBORO — Three-time defending champion Riverdale beat Arlington 67-50 in the girls AAA quarterfinals on Wednesday at MTSU's Murphy Center.

Arlington's Lanetta Williams, a Memphis signee, spent the first four minutes of the game on the bench while Riverdale got off to a 10-2 start. Coach Wes Schappley said that it was a tough decision. Williams is still recovering from a hamstring injury that kept her sidelined for weeks. 

"The biggest thing there is that we kind of got into a rotation of kids who were playing really well. When you've got five kids who are playing really well together it's hard to change things up on them," Schappley said. "At the same time, what she was doing off the bench, I'll be honest the two or three weeks of her being out was probably good for her. She's been rolling. Putting up dang near a double-double every night."

901 HOOPS: Sign up to get Memphis basketball news in your inbox every Thursday

Williams hit her first four shots and helped the Lady Tigers shave the deficit to two by halftime. 

"It felt good. I prepared for it. If you keep working on those things, it's going to happen," said Williams. "My teammates kept giving me the ball and they had the confidence in me to keep shooting those shots."

But Riverdale pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring Arlington 19-9 and opening up a 12-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter. 

"Not many players that are top in the state would be willing to take it the way she did, and that's a testament to her character and mental toughness," Schappley said. "It's a testament to her maturity. A lot of kids can get in their feelings and think, 'I'm Lanetta Williams, I should be starting.'"

Williams finished with 15 points and six rebounds. Nya Stewart also scored 15. Riverdale was led by Aislynn Hayes, who scored 22 points. 

UPDATES:TSSAA girls basketball state tournament quarterfinal games

SCHEDULE:TSSAA high school girls basketball state tournament 2019 pairings

PARKING:TSSAA basketball tournaments to impact traffic, parking around MTSU

WHERE TO EAT:TSSAA tournaments: Best places to eat in Murfreesboro