Valley View can’t keep up with Jones

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

LONOKE - Central Arkansas Christian’s Sydnie Jones was too much for Brookland on Saturday night, and the senior’s dominance Monday put the Lady Mustangs on the brink of a state title.

Jones scored 27 points, pulled down 13 rebounds, and blocked 5 shots to power the Lady Mustangs to a 56-41 victory over Valley View in the semifinals of the Class 4A state tournament at the Gina Cox Center.

“The girls played really well and were ready to play,” CAC Coach Steve Quattlebaum said. “We actually felt like we should have gotten to at least the semifinals last year, but Valley View beat us in the quarters. In this one, I thought they were really focused and were really excited from the very beginning.

“And I can’t say enough about the job Sydie did. We haven’t done a good job of getting her the ball, but we did today.”

After putting together a 30-point, 10-rebound effort in a 16-point victory over Brookland in the second round, the junior was just as dominant against the Lady Blazers. She shot 10 of 14 from the floor and altered several Valley View shots despite having to sit for stretches because of foul trouble.

Jones received quite a bit of help from her teammates. Senior Falan Miller scored 18 points and junior Sarah Butler had 6 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.

The victory clinched the Lady Mustangs’ first berth in the title game since 2007, the last of their three consecutive state championships. CAC (26-6) will face Malvern in the championship game at Summit Arena in Hot Springs. Game time and date will be determined today by the Arkansas Activities Association.

Malvern has beaten CAC seven consecutive times, including four times this season but each matchup has been competitive, with CAC holding fourth-quarter leads in two of those games.

“They’ve gotten the best of us recently, but we’ve been right there and had our chances,” Quattlebaum said. “We’re so familiar with one another, and we’re looking forward to another challenge.”

Ashleigh Guthrie scored 21 points for Valley View (29-6), which made 10 of 36 shots from the floor and was outrebounded 31-19. Amanda Meister added nine points.

CAC trailed just once, following Guthrie’s free throw with game only 15 seconds old. The Lady Mustangs scored 11 of the next 13 points and never looked back.

Jones scored on three consecutive baskets to the start the second quarter, with her spin move along the baseline giving CAC a 22-13 lead. Valley View made four baskets in the half and trailed 25-14 at halftime.

The Lady Blazers pulled to within with 26-22 on Meister’s free throw with 5:56 left in the third quarter, but two free throws by Miller ignited a 10-1 run that broke open the game. Jones’ 11 fourth-quarter points kept Valley View from making a serious push late.

MALVERN 64, FARMINGTON 51

Malvern, the defending champions, opened up a double-digit lead midway through the second quarter and were never seriously threatened in the second half while coasting past Farmington and into its second consecutive championship game.

Tieris Smith scored a game-high 21 points for the Lady Leopards (29-2), who have won both of their tournament games by an average of nearly 17 points and will take a 22-game winning streak into the title game against CAC. Alivia Huell scored 14 points for Malvern and Tiffany Murdock finished with 10. Raven Baker chipped in nine.

Haley Maxwell scored 14 points to lead Farmington (25-6), which trailed 28-15 at halftime but didn’t have an answer for Smith inside. Tahlon Hopkins scored 12 points and Tichina Scales finished with 10.

Sports, Pages 21 on 03/11/2014