FAYETTEVILLE — Once Rogers High got the ball to Taylor Strickland in the post, it was all downhill for Cabot in a first round game at the Class 7A State Tournament.
Cabot forced the Lady Mounties into nine early turnovers and Strickland had just one point the first nine minutes as the Lady Panthers staked a 12-5 lead.
But Strickland hit back-to-back three-point plays to start the second period and she finished with 25 points as Rogers went on to defeat Cabot 50-45 Wednesday night at Fayetteville High.
Rogers advances to tonight’s quarterfinals where they will play Fort Smith Northside at 7 p.m. Northside is the No. 2 seed from the 7A-Central and the Lady Bears had a first-round bye.
Class 7A State Tournament
ROGERS HIGH 50, CABOT 45
Cabot 12 5 8 20 — 45
Rogers 5 14 16 15 — 50
Cabot (14-11): Taylor 12, VanEnk 11, Bridges 9, Hamilton 8, McWilliams 3, Allgood 2.
Rogers (19-10): Strickland 25, James 13, Hawley 4, Ganoung 4, Trexler 2, Warren 2.
“We were tentative to make plays, you could see a lot of nerves to start the game,” Rogers coach Preston Early said. “Our first field goal, we got Strickland in the post. When you are in those types of situations, you have to go to your kids that have been there and done that. Taylor did a good job of breaking the ice for us.”
Strickland scored 10 straight points for Rogers (19-10) in the second period as they took a 19-17 lead at halftime. Strickland added 10 more points in the third period as Rogers took a 35-25 lead to the final period. Strickland was 10-of-12 from the free throw line.
The first nine minutes of the game were frustrating for Strickland but the Missouri-Kansas City signee said she knew that the Lady Mounties would eventually get in a rhythm.
“We know what we are capable of, and we were not even close to that early in the game,” Strickland said. “My teammates got me some excellent passes and I knew I had to step up and make those shots, make my free throws and extend the lead.”
Cabot (14-11) made several runs at Rogers in the second half but Hannah Hawley hit a key 3-pointer late in the third period and a steal and layup by Libby Ganoung gave the Lady Mounties a 44-33 lead with 3 minutes, 26 seconds left in the game.
“Any time we put ourselves in a bind, we answered,” Early said. “That steal by Libby was huge. That shot by Hannah was big because when teams press, you have to be able to spread the floor.”