Conference: 2-3A
Coach: Ryan Smith, fourth year at Riverview High School
Assistant Coach: Eric Wallace
2012-2013 record: 21-5 overall; 12-0 conference; regional runner-up.
Returning starters: “We returned two all-state players.” Meg Meachum, 5-9 senior guard/forward, all-state and all-conference selection; Erykah Johns, 5-8 sophomore guard, all-state and all-conference selection; Alexis Baker, 5-7 sophomore guard, all-conference selection; Kayla Young, 5-7 sophomore guard, all-conference selection; Madison Riley, 5-8 sophomore guard, all-conference selection; Dymond Smith, 5-7 senior guard, all-conference selection.
Other standout players: Arayana Watson, 5-11 junior post; Sam Kendrick, 5-8 senior; Jaliessa Irvine, 5-8 senior; and Sharika Irvine, 5-6 junior. “Any of them could start at any game,” Smith said.
Best outside players: “They’re all pretty good, but [Meachum] is probably our best shooter and [Johns and Young] are pretty good,” Smith said.
Best inside players: “[Watson, Meachum and Smith] have some good post moves,” Smith said.
How will you match/exceed/fall short of your success from last year? “I just stress to them in practice that everyone wants to beat them,” Smith said. “If we can get 12 more [wins] we’ve got a chance to win 24 in a row, because this is our last go around in this conference.” Riverview is moving up to the 4A conference next year.
Team strengths: “We should be more experienced than last year,” Smith said. “Our depth will help us.”
Team weaknesses: “Probably toughness,” he said. “We need to work on our man-to-man defense, our lockdown and get a stop when we need to.”
Games to watch: “Harding. They’ve got a really good team and really good impact players,” Smith said. “We have been very fortunate to beat them three times.” Smith said Bald Knob is also a team Harding needs to watch out for. “They’ve got a couple of strong starters back. We just have to make sure we stay focused and play one game at a time.”
Toughest opponent: Harding Academy
College prospects: “They could all play somewhere,” Smith said.
In a nutshell: “My team plays good together. They like each other, which helps,” Smith said. “They’re hungry to come back and prove that they want to finish better than they did last year.”