By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

 

PEDRO — Alvin Carpenter is beginning to believe that the only luck the Rock Hill Redwomen ever have is bad.

River Valley made three foul shots at the end of regulation and then outscored the Redwomen 11-4 in overtime to post a 72-65 Ohio Valley Conference win on Thursday.

Rock Hill led 61-58 and appeared to have forced a desperate 3-point attempt that ended up an air ball.

But a foul was call and Cady Gilmore made all three free throws to tie the game and force the overtime.

“We played well, we just couldn’t catch a break. There were times when it looked like we were in control and then something crazy would happen,” said Carpenter.

Brook Knipp had another big game with 23 points and 4 steals. Katie Johnson had 19 points and 8 rebounds while Chelsea Harper put together a strong all-around game with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 steals.

Gilmore led River Valley (3-9, 1-4) with 24 points including 13-of-14 from the foul line. Alli Neville scored 23 points.

Knipp scored 9 points in the first quarter to offset 7 by Gilmore as Rock Hill took a 15-9 lead.

But the Redwomen had seven turnovers in the second quarter and River Valley rallied to take a 29-21 halftime lead.

“We had a bad second quarter, but we came back the second half. We knocked some shots down tonight. But give credit to River Valley. They made the plays and they deserved to win,” said Carpenter.

Harper scored 7 points in the third quarter as Rock Hill cut the deficit to 46-40. Neville had 10 of her points in the quarter.

Johnson scored 9 points in the fourth quarter as the Redwomen came back to take the lead before Gilmore forced the overtime.

Neville and Gilmore each went 2-for-2 from the line in overtime as River Valley got 5 of its 11 points at the line.

River Valley 9 20 17 15 11 = 72

Rock Hill 15 6 19 21 4 = 65

RIVER VALLEY (3-9, 1-4): Shanlin Comer 1 0 0-0 2, Beth Misner 2 0 3-3 7, Alli Neville 7 2 3-5 23, Alexis Hurt 3 0 4-4 10, Cady Gilmore 4 1 13-14 24, Kacie Bryant 3 0 0-0 6, Chelsea Copley 0 0 0-0 0, Ramsey Warren 0 0 0-0 0.Totals: 20 3 23-26 72. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: None

ROCK HILL (6-7, 0-5): Chelsea Harper 4 1 7-12 18, Kelsey Blagg 0 0 1-2 1, Brook Knipp 9 0 5-6 23, Katie Johnson 8 0 3-3 19, Tommi Butler 1 0 0-0 2, Brooke Hanshaw 1 0 0-0 2, Madison Damron 0 0 0-0 0, Sara Travis 0 0 0-0 0, Brooklyn Massie 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-60 15-23 65. 3-point goals: 1-7. Rebounds: 33 (Harper 10, Johnson 8, Butler 8). Assists: 9 (Harper 5). Steals: 13 (Harper 7, Knipp 4). Turnovers: 17. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: Johnson.