CLASS 5A

No seconds left for defending champs

ALMA - Paragould senior forward Sydney Layrock made sure there would be a new champion in the Class 5A state tournament.

Layrock had a game-high 21 points and a game-high 14 rebounds to lead Paragould past defending state champion Jacksonville 64-40 in a second-round matchup Monday at Charles B. Dyer Arena.

Layrock, who made 7 of 21 field-goal attempts and had 6 offensive rebounds, provided a big spark with a three-point play just before halftime to cap a 13-8 run as Paragould took a 26-23 lead into halftime.

Paragould (21-5) didn’t look back after the break. Layrock scored the first seven points of the third quarter to spark a 13-0 run as Paragould took a 37-23 lead.

“Layrock really came on in the second half,” Paragould Coach Jay Cook said. “She gave us a big boost. Her leadership is so important for us, but when she is scoring and making plays it makes us just that much better.”

Jacksonville (16-10) jumped out to an 8-2 lead early in the first quarter with a three-point basket by Tiffany Smith, but Paragould used an 11-6 run to close out the quarter and cut the lead to 14-13 heading into the second quarter.

Jacksonville made just 24.6 percent (14 of 57) of its field goals in the game, including just 6 of 30 in the second half. The Lady Red Devils also made 8 of 26 free-throw attempts.

“They had some shots they usually make, but we felt like if we could limit their second-chance points we would be pretty good,” Cook said. “They got those points in the first, but we dida good job limiting that in the second half.”

Paragould used a balanced offensive attack behind Layrock.

Korie Bryant came off the bench to score 11 points, Sydney Walker added 10 and Abby Gibson finished with 9.

“It was a really nice win for us,” Cook said.

“I thought we started out a little bit sluggish. Their quickness was an issue for us and it took a little bit for us to catch up to that.”

The Lady Rams pushed out their lead to as much as 62-38 late in the fourth quarter after the game featured five lead changes and five ties early.

“We just simply played better in the second half and played much better on the offensive end,” Cook said. “We got in a flow after looking out of sorts to start the game.” HOT SPRINGS 49, BEEBE 45

Tiaunna Watkins and Berniezha Tidwell combined to score 40 points asHot Springs eliminated Beebe in the second round.

Watkins scored 21 and had a team-high eight rebounds while Tidwell finished with 19 points. Ashley Clayborn added nine points for the Lady Trojans.

Hot Springs (22-5) jumped out to an 11-8 lead in the first quarter and led 20-17 at halftime.

Beebe found quality shots, making 11 of 19 from the field in the second half and 18 of 39 for the game, but it made just 8 of 17 free-throw attempts. Hot Springs also finished with 13 second-chance points.

Kalela Miller finished with 15 points, Anna Anders added 14 and Taylor Mc-Graw had 12 for Beebe (17-9).

HUNTSVILLE 58, PULASKI ACADEMY 48

Pulaski Academy took a 12-7 lead after the first quarter, but Huntsville rallied to tie the game at halftime and used a strong final quarter to pull away in a second-round matchup.

Huntsville (20-7) was led by Vanessa Burgess’ game-high 24 points while making 12 of 13 free-throw attempts and adding 6 rebounds and 2 block shots.

A slow start by Huntsville’s offense was erased when it outscored Pulaski Academy 18-13 in the second quarter and then 33-23 in the second half to secure the upset victory. Huntsville also scored 16 second-chance points and had 21 points off turnovers.

Pulaski Academy (22-7) was led by Mackie Kuhn, who finished with a teamhigh 15 points.

Sports, Pages 21 on 03/11/2014

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