SILOAM SPRINGS -- Little Rock Parkview suffered through scoring droughts in the second and third quarter Monday, but the Lady Patriots executed late to claim a 50-41 victory over El Dorado in the Class 6A girls basketball state tournament at Panther Activity Center.
Natalia Ready scored of 10 points in the fourth quarter, including Parkview's final eight, to help her team advance to the semifinals. The Lady Patriots will play Mountain Home or Siloam Springs at 3:30 p.m. today.
El Dorado and Parkview split two regular-season meetings, but the Lady Patriots (17-10) kept a small lead during much of Monday's game.
Sophomore Mekaylan Hicks pulled El Dorado (20-9) to within 32-31 seconds into the fourth quarter, but that was as close as the Lady Wildcats would get. Parkview put together a 6-0 run for a 38-31 lead and never looked back.
Parkview Coach Lahoma Howard said her team made key plays down the stretch.
"They stepped up," she said. "They knew this game was crucial, especially to our seniors. We just wanted to leave it all on the floor. We managed to get some easy baskets and drive to the hole. That was big."
Parkview spread the floor with a 40-36 lead and four minutes left. Then sophomore guard Morgan Brady drove the lane and passed to Ka'Noesha Wilson for the layup and a six-point lead. Ready then scored Parkview's final eight points, including 6 of 6 from the free-throw line to put away the game.
Jaylyn Davis led the Lady Patriots, the No. 1 seed from the South, with 17 points, while Ready chipped in 15. Parkview was strong from the free-throw line, making 14 of 18 for the game and 10 of 12 in the fourth quarter. El Dorado made just 19 of 30.
Hicks scored 25 points to lea El Dorado.
El Dorado Coach Stephen Harshaw said his team was hurt by its defensive struggles and free-throw shooting, but he gave Parkview credit.
"They executed better than we did," Harshaw said. "We didn't play with the intensity we needed to defensively. We gave up a lot of open looks.
"Offensively, I thought we settled down and started feeding Mekaylan. But if we do better from the foul line, it's a completely different ballgame."
Sports on 03/10/2015