CEDARVILLE -- Sophomore Sara Greenlee gave West Fork a big spark in the Lady Tigers' biggest game of the season.
Greenlee scored all 12 of her points behind four 3-pointers to help West Fork pull away for a 54-30 victory over Mansfield at the 3A-1 West District Tournament on Thursday.
3A-1 West Conference
At Cedarville
Wednesday
Girls
Game 1: Mansfield 55, Haas Hall 40
Boys
Game 1: Cedarville 47, Elkins 43
Thursday
Girls
Game 2: West Fork 54, Mansfield 30
Game 3: Elkins 36, Lavaca 33
Boys
Game 2: Cedarville 79, Mansfield 64
Game 3: Lavaca 52, Greenland 50
Today
Girls
Game 4: Cedarville vs. West Fork, 4 p.m.
Game 5: Greenland vs. Elkins, 7 p.m.
Boys
Game 4: Haas Hall vs. Cedarville, 5:30 p.m.
Game 5: West Fork vs. Lavaca, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 6: Girls championship game, 6 p.m.
Game 6: Boys championship game, 7:30 p.m.
3A-1 District Tournament
Girls
West Fork 54, Mansfield 30
Mansfield^6^2^15^7^— ^30
West Fork^12^9^17^16^—^ 54
Mansfield (10-18): Ward 9, Stipins 8, Grady 7, Cumbie 3, Ellingburg 2, Strunk 1.
West Fork (19-9): Greenlee 12, Smith 12, Karnes 10, Griffin 8, Throgmorton 5, Cartwright 4, Tackett 3.
The win pushes West Fork (19-9) into next week's regional tournament in Danville.
West Fork, the No. 3 seed, will face No. 2 seed Cedarville today at 4 p.m. in the semifinals.
"This got us in the regionals, and that was one of our goals," West Fork coach Rodney Selph said. "It was a good win."
West Fork led 15-7 at the midway point of the second quarter, and Greenlee hit two 3-pointers to give the Lady Tigers a 21-8 lead at halftime. Greenlee then hit two 3-pointers the first 1 minute, 42 seconds of the third quarter as West Fork opened up a 27-11 lead.
"Greenlee shot it well," Selph said. "She shot it well in the first half, and she came out in the second half and shot it well. That was big for us, and she has shot it well for us all year."
Dara Smith and Olivia Karnes were also in double figures for West Fork with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Selph said balanced scoring has been key for the Lady Tigers this season.
"I like that a lot, and we will always take it when we get it," Selph said. "We have to have different girls step up every night."
After Greenlee's two 3-pointers to start the second half, West Fork then made five straight field goals en route to a 38-23 lead going into the final eight minutes. Holly Griffin scored six of her eight points during the run while Karnes added five points behind a 3-pointer and layup.
"We went to our man offense, and we were able to go high-low," Selph said. "It kind of snowballed from there."
Mansfield (10-18) only managed two free throws in the second quarter, and coach John Mackey said West Fork's defense was the difference. Mansfield was 0 for 8 from the field and committed four turnovers in the second quarter.
"We couldn't make a basket, and West Fork played good defense," Mackey said. "We just couldn't find the rim, and you have to give West Fork all the credit. I don't know if it was us playing on back-to-back nights, but we seemed to be a step slower and West Fork seemed a step quicker."
Paul Nielsen can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAPaul.
Sports on 02/20/2015