SILOAM SPRINGS -- Jonesboro's full-court pressure gave Sheridan problems Saturday afternoon, but the Golden Hurricane's box-and-one was the difference in their Class 6A girls basketball state tournament game at Panther Activity Center.
Jonesboro slowed down Sheridan's Kadesha Cooper in the second half thanks to the box-and-one and pulled away for a 70-54 victory.
Cooper scored 18 of her game-high 27 points in the first half and had the Lady Yellowjackets (13-13) within 28-25, but Jonesboro Coach Jodi Davis switched defenses to slow down Cooper. Four Jonesboro players fell back into zone defense while the other, Starr Taylor, played man-to-man on Cooper.
Cooper was held to two points in the third quarter when Jonesboro pulled away.
"I think it was the turning point," Davis said. "She's really talented. We knew we had to make somebody else do something for them."
Jonesboro outscored Sheridan 15-4 to start the second half. Junior Donita Webb punctuated the run with a three-pointer and a driving layup for a 43-29 lead less than four minutes into the third quarter. Sheridan, which had 23 turnovers, never challenged again.
The Golden Hurricane (12-17) will face 6A-South champion Little Rock Hall at 4 p.m. today in the quarterfinals.
Davis said her team worked on the box-and-one in practice this week, but she opted to wait until the second half to use it to minimize Sheridan's chances of adjusting to it.
"I didn't want them to come and draw up something and make an adjustment at halftime," Davis said.
Jonesboro, the No. 2 seed from the East, had five players with at least 10 points. Chayla Johnson led the way with 19 points, while Webb added 16, Kiandra Perry had 11, and Taylor and Terrica Steele 10 each.
Sheridan Coach Jamison Ingram said the box-and-one was effective because nobody else stepped forward for the Lady Yellowjackets.
"We've seen that a lot this year," Jamison said of the gimmick defense. "Typically, we just try to get on the block and free her [Cooper] up that way and let her go to work.
"We felt like it was there, but Jonesboro played awfully well and we were awfully tight tonight."
Sports on 03/08/2015