NASHVILLE -- Ashlyn Ellis was too much to handle during Pocahontas' 64-43 victory over Ozark on Friday in the Class 4A state tournament quarterfinals.
The Lady Redskins' senior scored 27 points and made every meaningful shot to keep the Lady Hillbillies at a distance. Her performance powered Pocahontas to its 19th consecutive victory and a spot in today's semifinals at Scrappers Arena.
Ellis helped the Lady Redskins (30-3) start and finish fast. They opened with an 11-2 lead and closed out the game on a 19-2 surge.
"We've been starting really well in the postseason, but our finishes have not been as good," Pocahontas Coach Harlan Davis said. "We've been kind of letting people back into it after looking like we were going to put them away early, so it was good to see us hit some free throws down the stretch."
Ellis scored 9 of her 11 points to lead a charge opening the second quarter that pushed the lead to 23-7, which was the largest of the first half.
"She sees the floor so well," Davis said. "Now that they've got to guard her pass, too, it's made her an even better scorer."
In the second half, Ozark (24-4) got as close as 45-41 before the game-ending run that featured Ellis hitting 6 of 8 free-throw attempts in the final 1:58. One trip to the line came after an intentional foul was whistled on Ozark for a flagrant forearm to the stomach.
Appearing slightly shaken from the blow, Ellis hit only 1 of 2 attempts.
"It was pretty physical, but we were ready for it," Ellis said. "We were used to it after some very physical games during regionals."
MONTICELLO 57, ESTEM 48
The Lady Billies (30-4) broke a 7-7 tie by scoring the final seven points of the first quarter and never trailed again.
They led 15-7 at the end of the first, 24-16 at halftime and 35-27 at the end of the third quarter to secure a semifinal berth.
Tiarra Austin scored nine of her 16 points in the first quarter while Shania Smith scored nine of her team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter to hold off eStem.
For the Mets (21-12), junior Mariah Adams led all scorers with 25 points and Jaylen Mallard added 13 points.
Sports on 03/04/2017