ALMA - It wasn’t the best start for Little Rock Christian, but a late surge in the second quarter more than made up for that Friday at Charles B. Dyer Arena.
Little Rock Christian found momentum just before halftime and used it after the break to pull away for a 47-36 victory against Watson Chapel in a first-round matchup in the 5A state tournament.
Watson Chapel took a 13-6 lead near the end of the first quarter, but the Lady Warriors scored the last eight points of the first half to take a 21-18 lead into halftime.
The Lady Warriors didn’t look back after that.
“It was real big for us, because we settled in and took that halftime lead,” Little Rock Christian Coach Skip Sanford said. “We’ve got a pretty good team, but it’s been a couple years since we have been there. This place is so nice, and sometimes kids get caught up in that. We got in the flow after that.”
Little Rock Christian (20-6) used a 11-5 run coming out of halftime to push its lead to 32-23 and extended it out to 38-27, the biggest lead of the game.
Annalee Rhodes scored a team-high 14 points and finished with a team-high nine rebounds, while Claire Newton came off the bench to score 13 points for Little Rock Christian.
“I thought it was a great game because you always have to prepare for Watson Chapel,” Sanford said. “They are a good team. The ball takes a couple of good bounces, and we just happened to be on the good side.”
Watson Chapel (15-12) was led by freshman Peyton Martin, who finished with a game-high 19 points and a team-high eight rebounds while scoring 13 of Watson Chapel’s 18 second-half points.
“She is hard to guard and she can catch and finish,” Sanford said of Martin. “She is good right now, but she is going to be a really good one in the future. She is going to be a handful for a few years.” PULASKI ACADEMY 70, DE QUEEN 42
The Lady Bruins used a strong first half to put the game well out of reach by halftime against the Lady Leopards in a first-round matchup.
Pulaski Academy backed up a 19-point first quarter by scoring 22 points in the second quarter to build a 41-20 lead going into halftime.
Mackie Kuhn led Pulaski Academy with a game-high 25 points, hitting 10 of 16 from the field, and 4 assists.
Paige Morphew and Ashely Davis led De Queen with 13 points each.
JACKSONVILLE 68, WHITE HALL 57
Senior forward Markela Bryles scored a game-high 34 points and lead the way for Jacksonville (16-9) in the second half as it pulled away from White Hall (19-7).
The Lady Red Devils improved by making 11 of 21 shots after making 9 of 29 in the first half.
Bryles made 11 of 17 shots from the field and 12 of 17 free-throw attempts and finished with a team-high 11 rebounds, including 7 offensive rebounds. Antrice McCoy added 11 points.
Jaelisa Allen had 17 points and 10 rebounds for White Hall, and Hailey Wilkins had 14 points.
Sports, Pages 25 on 03/08/2014