Long Beach powers past Riverdale to Iolani Classic title

Long Beach Poly's Ayana Clark attempts to get a shot of as Riverdale's Kahliya Murry defends. Greg Yamamoto | SL

Led by a combination of youth and experience, Long Beach Poly battled their way past Riverdale, 57-49, to claim the Iolani Girls Classic title, the third crown in three trips to Hawaii for the Jackrabbits.

"I feel its real huge." said Long Beach Poly head coach Carl Buggs of the win. "I really felt our success early would be based on how our freshman progressed, Ayana Clark, Danae Miller, Kyra Brady played big parts, especially today."

The aforementioned first-year starter Clark scored 16 pts and grabbed 13 rebounds, while senior guard Arica Carter added 13 points, which included three triples, and five steals to lead the way for Long Beach Poly, who played Riverdale to a 20-20 tie after one half of play.

"Its just hard work and dedication. Everybody came through as a team and just made it happen." said Clark.

The Warriors countered with the duo of Shelbie Davenport and Alexa Middleton, who combined for 39 of Riverdale's 49 poiints, but the Jackrabbits depth proved to be the difference, as nine Long Beach players put up points compared to just five for Riverdale.

The field at the Classic drew high praise from Buggs.

"There's some outstanding talent at this tournament, some of the best talent around (the country). And we always love playing Hawaii teams, they always scrappy, they play hard, good discpline." he added.