Riverdale's girls showed their depth against longtime rival Riverdale on Tuesday night, and the Lady Warriors did so at the most opportunistic moment.

Riverdale turned a one-point third-quarter lead in the third quarter into a 16-point cushion in a matter of four minutes to pull away for a 63-52 victory at Oakland.

The No. 2 Lady Warriors improved to 15-1 overall and 2-1 in District 7-AAA play, while No. 5 Oakland dropped to 12-2 and 2-1.

"I think we've got some kids sitting on the bench that come in and know their role and what to do," said Riverdale coach Randy Coffman. "And tonight you saw that."

Riverdale withstood an early third-quarter spurt by Oakland, which cut a seven-point halftime lead to 31-30 with 4:31 left in the third.

However, freshman Aislynn Hayes scored eight points, including making two 3-pointers, and reserve Allison Mayeux hit back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Lady Warriors' lead to 50-34 with 30 seconds left in the third.

Oakland got to within seven points, 50-43, with 5:55 remaining in the game, but Riverdale sophomore Brinae Alexander hit back-to-back buckets inside to stretch the lead back to 11 with 5:13 remaining.

"We just had to pull together and play together," said Alexander, who had 12 points. "It's always a big win to beat Oakland."

Riverdale junior guard Anastasia Hayes dominated the game in the transition and led the No. 2 Lady Warriors with 18 points. Alexis Whittington had 17.

"We were in some foul trouble, but we just had people step up," Anastasia Hayes said. "These games are really fun since they're our rival and we love to beat them."

It was the 109th all-time meeting between the two rivals, and Riverdale took a 55-54 lead in the series with the victory.

"Anytime you beat a (Oakland coach) Jennifer Grandstaff on the road it's a big win," Coffman said. "I'm real pleased with our kids' work ethic. They've bought into what we want them to do, and that's share the basketball and run the floor and be unselfish. When those things happen, good things happen for those kids."

Oakland was led by Shelby Gibson with 14 points, while Ansley Eubank netted 10.

BOYS

Oakland 52, Riverdale 50

Youth was served at Randy King Gymnasium on Tuesday night as freshman Jaden Jamison drove the baseline for a strong layup with 1.5 seconds left to give the Patriots a thrilling 52-50 victory.

Ironically, it was Jamison's only points of the game.

"We've got a couple of special freshmen," said Oakland coach Troy Bond. "We expect big things from them."

The undefeated Patriots were on the ropes early in the third quarter when they trailed 30-19. However, an 18-2 road over a seven-minute stretch helped give them a three-point lead going into the final quarter.

"You spot a team 12 or 13 points in the first half and that's a big deficit in this game," Bond said. "Our kids showed a lot of heart and character to win that game."

Riverdale trailed 48-43 with 2:17 remaining, but tied the game at 50 with 19 seconds left when Jonathan Mathews made one of two free throws.

Oakland milked the clock until Jamison took the ball from the baseline in front of the Patriots bench and drove in for the game-winning shot.

"We're going to be fine before it's all said and done, and we're going to be a good basketball team," said Riverdale coach Michael Voss. "We're a team trying to learn how to finish games.

"The third quarter has been our issue. I thought (the Patriots) were on the attack and their guys got going downhill on us. They had some kids make some plays."

Tuesday's Prep Basketball Scoreboard

Girls

Riverdale 63, Oakland 52

Siegel 55, La Vergne 24

Shelbyville 63, Smyrna 60

Blackman 71, Stewarts Creek 55

Community 65, MTCS 60

Eagleville 42, Fayetteville 26

Boys

Oakland 52, Riverdale 50

La Vergne 55, Siegel 52

Shelbyville 61, Smyrna 51

Blackman 72, Stewarts Creek 52

MTCS 54, Community 49

Eagleville 69, Fayetteville 64

Reach sports editor Monte Hale Jr. at mhale@murfreesboropost.com