PARAGOULD -- Defense carried Pulaski Academy past defending state champion Paragould in the first round of the Class 5A state tournament Tuesday afternoon.
Senior post player Alex Otwell and sophomore guard Morgan Wallace each scored 13 points and the Lady Bruins limited the Lady Rams to 11 shots in the second half on their way to a 43-35 victory at Greene County Tech High School.
"Defense has carried us all year," Pulaski Academy Coach Rick Treadway said. "We have the ability to score, but we've hung our hat on our defense."
Pulaski Academy (26-2) will face Hot Springs Lakeside or Vilonia in the quarterfinals.
Senior Korie Bryant led Paragould with 16 points and seven rebounds, but she was held to five points in the second half.
Pulaski Academy scored the final five points of the first quarter, led 16-11 at the first break and never trailed again. The Lady Bruins, however, were unable to pull away from the Lady Rams (14-14) until the game's final two minutes.
Pulaski Academy hit only 1 of 10 free throws and 2 of 7 shots from the floor in the second quarter. Paragould failed to take advantage of the Lady Bruins' offensive woes, hitting only 1 of 7 shots from the floor in the second quarter.
Paragould managed to pull within two points early in the fourth quarter, but Wallace and senior Payton Koller combined to allow the Lady Bruins to advance.
Wallace scored six of her points in the fourth quarter and she also hit Koller, who finished with 10 points, with an assist with 2:40 left that gave the Lady Bruins a 39-32 lead.
"That may not have been the final nail in the coffin, but it was one of the last nails," Treadway said. "Wallace really played well in the final minutes."
Pulaski Academy hit 13 of 37 shots and finished 12 of 28 from the free-throw line. Paragould was 9 of 27 from the floor and 13 of 16 from the line, including a 7-of-10 effort by sophomore Bailey Bateman.
Otwell also picked up six rebounds and blocked four shots. Wallace added seven rebounds and made four steals.
GREENE COUNTY TECH 55, JACKSONVILLE 31
The host Lady Eagles (22-6) scored the game's first nine points and rolled to a victory over the Lady Red Devils (14-13).
Junior forward Kassie Tyner scored nine of her 10 points in the second quarter as GCT broke out to a 25-8 halftime lead.
Senior Blair Methany wound up as the Lady Eagles' leading scorer, putting in all 11 of her points in the second half. Senior Josie Fletcher also added 10 points.
Jacksonville was held scoreless until sophomore Alexis James made two free throws with 44.9 seconds left in the first quarter. The Lady Devils did not hit their first field goal until junior Desiree Williams hit a running 5-footer with 3:02 left before halftime.
Senior Antrice McCoy and Williams each scored 11 to lead Jacksonville.
Sports on 03/04/2015