C3D1: Experience shows in Twin Rivers thriller over Malden

The adage that experience is valuable is a common refrain for a reason: Because it’s true.

The Twin Rivers girl’s basketball program has won consecutive MSHSAA Class 3 District 1 titles and will go for a third following its thrilling 40-38 win over Malden on Thursday in the semifinal round at Portageville High School, and that experience showed late in the win.

“Tonight,” Royals coach David Crockett said, “we came ready to play. It was a fight, and we knew that it would be.”

A little over a month ago, the Green Wave had beaten Twin Rivers in Malden by 15 points.

“We didn’t play our game,” Crockett said of the first outing. “We weren’t locked into the game plan, and as the coach, I’ll take responsibility for that.”

The Royals (11-13) were “locked in” on Thursday, but so was Malden, until late.

The Green Wave led 20-17 at halftime and 31-30 early in the final period, and with just over two minutes on the clock, Green Wave senior Jada Townsend hit a short jumper to give her team a 38-36 lead.

Following a Malden turnover on a five-second violation, Twin Rivers senior post Hannah Bader pulled the Royals to within 38-37 with a free throw, but Malden turned the ball over again.

Twin Rivers sophomore Reese Crimson missed a pair of free throws with 43 seconds remaining, but trailing 39-36, she made up for it by sinking two for a 39-38 Royals lead with 27 seconds on the clock.

The Green wave committed another turnover, and sophomore Maci Hockersmith gave Twin Rivers a 40-38 margin with :16 left.

Malden threw the ball away one more time, but the Royals could not connect on free throws, which gave the Green Wave one final opportunity – and they almost made the most of it.

Malden junior Angela Dobbins grabbed a rebound off a missed free throw with four seconds left and sped down the court, before heaving a 28-foot shot from the right sideline…. that rimmed out.

“It is the district semifinals,” Crockett said, “and Malden is a team that we have put out the last two years, now it makes three. They were going to fight and they were going to give everything they had.”

Hockersmith finished with seven points, while Crimson added eight.

Bader scored a team-leading 13 points.

Townsend had 10 points in the loss, while Sydni Haliburton (six points), Dobbins (five), and Brydon Maddox (eight) also contributed.

“This was a little revenge,” Crockett said of the win. “It was awesome. Now we have Portageville, who beat us earlier in the year.”

The Bulldogs got past the Royals 44-38 in early December in Brosely.

Portageville hasn’t won a District championship since taking consecutive crowns in 2008 and 2009.

Conversely, Twin Rivers has won six District titles since 2013.