West Memphis tops Sylvan Hills, advances to face LH - Hot Springs Sentinel

On top of using sheer size to its advantage, West Memphis put up a solid offensive performance to knock off Sylvan Hills 53-42 Thursday afternoon in the first round of the Class 5A state tournament at Trojan Arena. The Lady Blue Devils will face Lake Hamilton Saturday at 4 p.m. in the second round.

After rallying from a 12-9 first-quarter deficit to take a 28-22 halftime lead, the Lady Blue Devils (9-14) opened the second half with sophomore Janiya Tucker finding classmate Clemisha Prackett in the paint for a bucket before a steal by Sylvan Hills senior Daniya Cartwright opened up a transition layup for sophomore Jianna Morris to keep the Lady Bears in it.

Prackett grabbed two offensive rebounds before converting a 3-point play before Morris responded with a 3-pointer from the right wing for a 33-27 West Memphis lead with 4:45 to go. Following a fast-break layup by sophomore Jayla Stirgus, Prackett led a 7-2 Lady Blue Devil run to end the third quarter with a 40-31 lead.

West Memphis head coach Erica Leak noted the significance of changing their defensive strategy early in the first half.

"We started out in our zone, our 1-3-1, and they were getting a lot of open looks, knocking a lot of good shots down," she said. "But then we adjusted quickly in the second quarter. I said, 'Let's go man-to-man and just make them play on us, and let's see if they can knock down shots with us up on them,' and that was the change of momentum for us going to the man-to-man."

Tucker helped keep the momentum on the Lady Blue Devils' side by starting the final eight minutes with a drive and pull-up jumper in the lane and then nailing a step-back 3-pointer the next time down the court. After Cartwright sank a free throw, West Memphis senior Tanya Burnett drained a trey to keep the drive going.

Senior Kareisha Lowery answered for the Lady Bears by downing a jumper as Stirgus tacked on a 3-pointer to pull within 48-37 with 4:25 on the clock. Stirgus answered with another trey before Tucker ultimately capped the win with a free throw in the closing minute.

Leak said she felt much better going into the break.

"Oh, we felt great going into the locker room," she said. "We knew the adjustments that we had to make which was the man-to-man style, do not foul, and, 'If you get beat, you've got Prackett right there. They've got to shoot over her. OK, if they miss, you'll get the board,' so that was kind of our game plan coming in. We didn't want to go away from the man-to-man. If you notice, we did not go back zone after the first quarter. We stuck with man because that was working for us."

Sylvan Hills head coach Shelley Davis said she felt the major difference in the game came down to rebounds.

"I feel like their size was just -- it's hard to contend," she said. "My post is 5-6. You know, they had three kids in there at one time that were 6-foot tall, and it's just hard to contend with that. We're trying to work; we're trying to hustle, and of course we did not do a good job blocking out, but still they've got a foot advantage on us it feels like -- every kid out there."

The Lady Bears got on the scoreboard first with Morris going to the line after a technical foul for the Lady Blue Devils not turning in a team roster to the scorers' desk in time.

Tucker quickly answered for West Memphis by picking up a steal and finding freshman Aniya Price in the open court for the layup as Prackett followed up with an inside jumper moments later.

Morris drained a 3-pointer to knot the game at 4 as West Memphis senior Terika Inmon drained a trey as did Stirgus to keep the count knotted at 7 with 1:20 remaining.

The two teams continued trading baskets into the second quarter before Burnett sank a trey from the corner at the 3:50 mark to kickstart a 9-3 Lady Blue Devil spurt to close out the first half.

Leak noted the desire her team had for the win, especially that of the game's leading scorer, Prackett.

"Man, I mean, they want it," she said. "The girls want it. Prackett is rebounding. She's being a vocal leader on the sidelines. She saying, 'We've got this.' The thing, she's being a leader; she's being a leader -- on the court and off the court -- and that's what we've been needing from her. She stepped up big."

Prackett led West Memphis with 19 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals followed by Tucker with 14 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists, and Burnett with 11 points, five boards, a pair of steals and a block.

Morris led Sylvan Hills with 18 points, five rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal, while Stirgus add 13 points, three boards and a steal.

BATESVILLE (VG) 87, PARKVIEW 77

Senior Isabella Higginbottom led Batesville with 57 points to advance to the quarterfinals Thursday morning at Trojan Arena.

The Lady Pioneers jumped out to an 18-11 lead by the end of the opening frame before outscoring the Lady Patriots 21-19 in the second for 39-30 lead at intermission. Parkview rallied in the third quarter to outscore Batesville 26-24 as the Lady Pioneers held on to put up 24 points to the Lady Patriots' 21 in the fourth for the win.

Taylor Bush added 13 points for Batesville. Parkview was led by Jada Page and Jordan Gregory each with 17 points, and Tyra Robinson added 14 points.

The Lady Pioneers will play Vilonia Saturday at 10 a.m.

MAUMELLE (VB) 60, MARION 58

Despite Marion taking the early lead in the game, Carl Daughtery's 19 points helped raise the Hornets over the hump to advance to the second round of the tournament Thursday afternoon at Trojan Arena.

The Patriots jumped out 17-11 by the end of the first quarter and outscored Maumelle 14-13 in the second to take a 31-24 lead heading into the locker rooms. The Hornets came back in the third period to outscore the Patriots 21-13.

Darvis Rasberry added 14 points for the Hornets while Joshua Denton added 13 points. Timothy McDonald led Marion with 18 points, and Ryan Forrest added 17.

Maumelle will take on Russellville in the quarterfinals Saturday at 1 p.m. at Trojan Arena.

Published On: Fri, 12 Mar 2021 10:13:33 GMT