SPRINGDALE -- Chandler Sone set her feet just outside the 3-point line and launched a perfect shot that swished through the net midway through the fourth quarter.
It was one of eight 3-pointers Huntsville knocked down in its 64-30 blowout win over Gentry in the 4A-1 Conference District Tournament semifinals on Friday at Shiloh Christian's Champions Gymnasium.
4A-1 Conference District Tournament
At Shiloh Christian
Huntsville 64, Gentry 30
Gentry^13^2^9^6^—^30
Huntsville^22^13^14^15^—^64
Gentry (10-13): Morris 12, Lawrence 8, Borgeteien-James 6, Hays 2, Bills 1, Ellis 1.
Huntsville (23-5): Campbell 18, McCartney 16, Creek 9, Sone 8, Tipton 4, Phillips 3, Gosvener 3, Walkingstick 3.
4A-1 Conference
At Shiloh Christian
Wednesday
Girls
Game 1: Gravette 62, Lincoln 46
Game 3: Pea Ridge 53, Shiloh Christian 47
Boys
Game 2: Lincoln 71, Berryville 59
Game 4: Gentry 67, Gravette 53
Thursday
Girls
Game 5: Berryville 61, Pea Ridge 45
Game 7: Gentry 65, Gravette 60.
Boys
Game 6: Prairie Grove 59, Gentry 48.
Game 8: Lincoln 55, Shiloh Christian 50.
Friday
Girls
Game 9: Huntsville 64, Gentry 30
Game 11: Prairie Grove 49, Berryville 34
Boys
Game 10: Huntsville 59, Lincoln 47
Game 12: Pea Ridge 48, Prairie Grove 35
Saturday
Game 13: Huntsville vs. Prairie Grove, 5:30 p.m.
Game 14: Huntsville vs. Pea Ridge, 7 p.m.
Sone's 3-pointer with 3 minutes, 21 seconds left in the game invoked the 30-point mercy rule, but the game was over long before that as the Lady Eagles (23-5) turned a close game into a rout by knocking down five straight 3-pointers at one point.
"You know, it's postseason now and we've got a bunch of seniors that want to do well," Huntsville coach Charles Berry said. "They were definitely ready to play. They've been getting ready all week."
Huntsville seniors Miranda Campbell and Shelbi McCartney, veterans of last season's Class 5A state finalist, keyed Friday's win with 18 and 16 points respectively. Both also hit 3-pointers in that early onslaught that helped the Lady Eagles turn a 6-5 deficit into a 20-13 lead as McCartney drilled back-to-back 3-pointers late in the first quarter.
McCartney, one of seven seniors on the team, said the team was also itching to atone for a loss to Berryville last Friday to end the 4A-1 Conference season. The loss prevented Huntsville from earning the outright league title, instead sharing the championship with Prairie Grove, although Huntsville is the overall No. 1 seed.
"It was a wakeup call for sure," McCartney said of the loss to Berryville.
Gentry (10-13), the No. 4 seed, attacked Huntsville early with Mallory Morris accounting for the Lady Pioneers' first nine points and ended the game with a team-high 12. Her 3-pointer with just over three minutes left in the first quarter gave Gentry its last lead of the game at 9-8 before Huntsville started raining in 3-pointers.
McCartney's pull-up shot from in the lane gave Huntsville a 22-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Lady Eagles, who will advance to tonight's 5:30 p.m. championship game, turned up the defensive pressure in the second quarter and held Gentry to just one field goal. Although Huntsville's shooting cooled in the quarter, the Lady Eagles stretched their lead to 35-15 at halftime.
"We really didn't do anything differently than we normally do," McCartney said. "We knew we had to pick up the hustle and get up on them."
Huntsville opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run that put the game away.
"We didn't play well at Berryville, and they know it," Berry said. "There wasn't no use in me telling them that. They knew it and they came out smoking tonight."
Gentry will be the No. 4 seed at next week's 4A-North Regional Tournament in Pottsville.
Prairie Grove 49, Berryville 36
The No. 2 seed Lady Tigers squeezed the clock and hit free throws to advance to the championship game by rolling over No. 3 seed Berryville.
Prairie Grove (17-10), winners of seven straight games, got 14 points from Mattie Hartin, including three 3-pointers. Camree Bartholomew added 10.
Aleksei Smith led Berryville (19-9) with a game-high 20 points. The Lady Bobcats will be the No. 3 seed at next week's regional.
Boys
Huntsville 59, Lincoln 47
The No. 1 seed Eagles (27-2) broke a close game open in the second half and rolled to the tournament finals as three players scored in double-figures.
Jose Aguilar led Huntsville with a game-high 21 points. River Gosvener added 14 and Caleb Kirk 11.
Lincoln (14-14) got 13 points from Shandon Goldman and Roni Castenada added 11. The Wolves will be the No. 4 seed at regionals next week.
Pea Ridge 48, Prairie Grove 35
The No. 2 seed Blackhawks advanced to tonight's finals behind 15 points from sophomore Joey Hall.
Pea Ridge (20-8) got 9 points from Britton Caudill.
Dylan Soehner led Prairie Grove (14-13) with 13 points. The Tigers will be the No. 3 seed at next week's regional tournament.
Chip Souza can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAChip
Sports on 02/21/2015