CONWAY -- Erykah Johns and Madison Riley played on a Riverview Lady Raiders team that has won 76 of its past 77 games. One more victory on the high school level, they say, would be a perfect way to go out.
Johns and Riley will be teammates once again for tonight's Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star girls basketball game at the Farris Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
"It was awesome," said Riley, a 5-9 forward, of the Lady Raiders' back-to-back Class 4A state championships. "It was nice being on a team where everybody was really good. We didn't have to count on any one player to do it all because we had a team full of those."
"It was fun being on a team that liked to win," said Johns, a 5-8 forward. "Everyone played the game the way I liked to play it. I don't know what to expect this week. I'm just going to try to enjoy the experience."
The two also will try to help the East team expand its four-game winning steak in the series. The East holds a 29-24 overall advantage.
Ryan Smith, Riverview's coach and an East assistant for this week's all-star game, said Johns and Riley have been special players for the Lady Raiders' program.
"Obviously, we weren't an average team," Smith said. "We won a lot of games and were just blessed to have them on the same team. It's a very big deal for a school our size."
Riley, the MVP of the 2016 Class 4A state tournament, has signed to play for Lyon College in the fall. Johns is unsigned but wants to continue her basketball career if possible.
"Both of them are gym rats, and they love the game," Smith said. "They love practice, and they both worked so hard on both ends of the floor. They just get after it, and they both want to win."
Sports on 06/23/2016