JONESBORO -- Bailee Owens and Siloam Springs had an answer for Mountain Home's slower pace of play.
The Lady Panthers got off to a good start offensively -- powered by a pair of Owens' 3-pointers -- and Siloam Springs never trailed in a 46-31 victory over the Lady Bombers on Saturday in the opening round of the Class 6A State Tournament at Don Riggs Hurricane Gymnasium at Jonesboro High School.
Siloam Springs 46, Mountain Home 31
Mountain Home^7^8^10^6^—^31
Siloam Springs^17^5^14^10^—^46
Mountain Home (7-20): Martin 11, Arms 5, Jones 5, Gaines 4, Leonard 3, Blevins 3.
Siloam Springs (18-9): Owens 13, Pippin 10, Stock 8, Miller 7, Cameron 4, Eldridge 2, Jones 2.
Boys
Siloam Springs 52, Marion 45
Marion^15^4^6^20^—^45
Siloam Springs^10^9^13^20^—^52
Marion (15-10): Brigham 14, Davie 11, Garret 10, Whitaker 7, Latham 3.
Siloam Springs (12-14): Benson 18, Gray 16, Goddard 11, Johnson 5, Lambert 2.
The win was the Lady Panthers' first state tournament win since 2010 after three straight years of being eliminated in the first round.
Owens, a junior, had a game-high 13 points while junior Mayse Pippin added 10 points for the Lady Panthers. Senior Ashlin Stock chipped in eight points for Siloam Springs (18-9), which advances to Monday's 6A quarterfinals at 4 p.m. against No. 1 seed Greenwood.
Owens hit her first 3-pointer and Stock hit a trey to give the Lady Panthers an early 6-0 lead. Mountain Home closed to within 8-7, but the Lady Panthers closed the first quarter on a 9-0 run to open up a 17-7 lead after the first quarter.
"We got off to a good start offensively," said Siloam Springs coach Tim Rippy. "That right away changes how teams try to defend us."
The Lady Panthers led 22-15 at halftime but quickly pulled back ahead by double digits in the third quarter.
Mayse Pippin powered in for a bucket for a 24-15 lead and Baily Cameron followed with a pair of free throws. Stock hit another 3-pointer, and Pippin grabbed an offensive rebound and scored as Siloam Springs opened up a 31-18 lead.
Even with starting guard Morgan Miller on the bench with four fouls -- three of which were offensive fouls -- the Lady Panthers were able to maintain a double digit lead in the second half.
When Mountain Home got with 33-25 late in the third quarter, Owens hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the third quarter to push the Lady Panthers' lead back up to 36-25.
"I really think we found a way to do what we had to do with (Miller)," said Owens.
Playing without Miller on the floor has not been a strong point of Siloam Springs most of the season.
Siloam Springs was able to turn the tables on Mountain Home by slowing down the pace in the fourth quarter.
"For the most part we did a good job of settling down and our kids did a great job of executing and being patient," Rippy said. "We were able to play the way they wanted to play."
Cassie Martin scored 11 points to lead Mountain Home.
"For us to only allow them to score 46 points, we did a good job defensively," said Mountain Home coach Dell Leonard. "We just couldn't get any shots to go in."
Boys
Siloam Springs 52, Marion 45
Freshman Avery Benson led Siloam Springs with 18 points, and seniors Dylan Gray and Reece Goddard scored 16 and 11 respectively as the Panthers defeated Marion on Saturday in the opening round.
The Panthers (12-14) advance to the quarterfinals on Monday where they'll play Little Rock Parkview (25-1) at 5:30 p.m.
The Panthers never trailed the second half and hit 23 of 28 from the free-throw line.
Dequarius Brigham led Marion (15-10) with 14 points.
Sports on 03/09/2014