Having won five of their last six games, head coach Michael DiPadova is liking what he sees from his River Ridge girls’ basketball team late in the season.

With a 46-35 victory over visiting Belmont last Tuesday night, the Lady Timberwolves have improved to 6-8 in league play and 12-10 overall with two games remaining on their regular-season schedule.

Against the Braves, coach DiPadova’s squad played to a 20-17 halftime lead before outscoring their opponent 26-18 in the second half. Defensive intensity and key shots down the stretch enabled the Timberwolves to pull out the victory.

“The girls had another solid performance, showing hustle and some clutch free throw shooting to pull away at the end, which was a good combo,” said coach DiPadova. “I like our confidence right now.”

Behind a balanced scoring attack, the Timberwolves were led by sophomore guard Adayah Groom, who netted 12 points and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the second half.

Junior forward Erin Adrian and sophomore guard Ava Nies each finished with 11 points, Adrian on five field goals and 1-of-2 free throw attempts, and Nies on four field goals and 3-of-5 free throw attempts.

Chipping in eight points was junior guard McKenzie Taylor , while Kristina Sletten finished with four.

Following this past Monday night’s non-conference contest against host Wauzeka-Steuben, the Lady Wolves will close out the regular season this Thursday night at Potosi/Cassville.

Coach DiPadova and his River Ridge girls received the No. 6 seed in their division 5 sectional playoff bracket, and will host No. 11 seed Seneca (7-12) in first-round action on Tuesday, Feb. 24. The winner will move on to face the winner between No. 3 seed Barneveld (15-7) and No. 14 seed Black Hawk (5-16) the following Friday night.

The top seed in the sectional bracket belongs to Argyle/Pecatonica (18-3), with Shullsburg (14-8) holding the No. 2 seed, and Wauzeka-Steuben (18-4) the fourth seed.