Riverside girls basketball team has plenty of firepower back

In what has to be a chance to make up for missed opportunities, the Riverside girls' basketball team hopes to build on a 2010-11 season that resulted in a 20-4 overall record and a Section 2-AA title with an 11-1 record.

However, gaudy records don't make up for the disappointment that surely occurred after the Panthers were knocked out of the WPIAL playoffs with a 38-34 loss to Beaver Falls in the Class AA quarterfinals.

Sam Weir and Alex Deep achieved the most success individually a year ago for Riverside as all-section selections, and both are back this season. Weir, a 6-0 senior forward, averaged 17 points a game, while Deep, a 5-9 junior guard, averaged 12.4 points a game.

Riverside lost just three seniors from last year's team. Everyone else is back.

The team had winning streaks of six and 10 games. The six-game streak was snapped in a 45-41 loss to Class AAA Montour in the Panthers' LGKG Classic on Dec. 28. Another Class AAA team, Hopewell, snapped the 10-game streak as the visiting Vikings eked out a 65-63 victory on Feb. 7.

Riverside begins the season on Dec. 13 against non-section rival Knoch. The Panthers open Section 2-AA play two days later at Mohawk.