C3D1: Twin Rivers claims second straight district tiitle

Twin Rivers' Charly Johnson fights for possession with Portageville's Laney Stone during the C3D1 Championship game on Friday, Feb. 25 in Charleston, Mo.

DAR/Robert Augsdorfer

CHARLESTON – For the second straight season, the Twin Rivers Lady Royals are Class 3 District 1 Champions as they defeated Portageville 51-33 on Friday night. Twin Rivers will move on to face Woodland in the sectional round.

Twin Rivers coach David Crocket gave credit to his two seniors, Taylor Watson and Brianna South for their district championship as South led the team with 20 points while Watson had 17 points.

"We had so much growth this season," Crocket said. "We're a young team with two good seniors that carry us and everybody else fills their role. That's the key to our district championship."

Twin Rivers' Taylor Watson gets by Portageville's Akiyah Jordan during the C3D1 Championship game on Friday, Feb. 25 in Charleston, Mo.

DAR/Robert Augsdorfer

South was bouncing back from an injury she suffered during the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament and a district championship was the icing on the cake.

"It feels awesome to get a district championship," South said.

As for Watson, she got hurt early in the first quarter taking a hard foul, but she was able to fight through it for the rest of the game.

Portageville's Laney Stone puts up a shot while it's contested by Twin Rivers' Reese Crismon during the C3D1 Championship game on Friday, Feb. 25 in Charleston, Mo.

DAR/Robert Augsdorfer

"We got down on defense and moved the ball very well," Watson said. "We executed our game plan and it worked out for us."

In the other locker room, a young Portageville team will look to build off of the loss.

"We'll be bringing a lot back despite losing one senior," Portageville coach Kylee Fowler said. "I'll have 10 players back and they're looking to build off of this game and get back here next year."

Akiyah Jordan dribbles up the floor against Twin Rivers during the C3D1 Championship game on Friday, Feb. 25 in Charleston, Mo.

DAR/Robert Augsdorfer

Portageville was led by Amiyah Saxton with 12 points in the game.

The Lady Royals were dominant from the start with a 13-4 lead at the end of the first quarter and went into the locker room up 28-12.

However, Portageville started the second half with an 11-3 run in the first four minutes to cut the Lady Royal lead to 38-26.

"I think we were nervous at the start," Fowler said. "But I did like how we were able to come out in the third quarter with a fire under us and I hope to build off of that."

Twin Rivers was able to maintain their lead going into the final eight minutes up 38-26 and they were able to seal the game away for the district championship.

Twin Rivers will face Woodland (14-11) in a sectional playoff at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Bearcat Event Center in Dexter.