Farmington got a balanced scoring effort and a stingy defensive performance to advance in the Class 5A girls state tournament.
Sophomore guard Makenna Vanzant scored 20 points to lead four Lady Cardinals with 10 or more points as Farmington slipped past De Queen 70-59 on Tuesday in the first round at Maumelle High School.
Junior guard Alexis Roach had 15 points while sophomore forward Audrey Culpepper had 10 points and 6 rebounds for Farmington (26-5), which went 10 of 11 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. Junior guard Madisyn Pense added 10 points for the Lady Cardinals.
"Survive and advance is the name of the game right now," Farmington Coach Brad Johnson said. "We didn't shoot it well, but we hit some timely shots when we had to hit them. And at this time of the year, you've got to be able to hit some free throws, and I thought we did that.
"We didn't play our best defensively, but we got some stops that were key, especially after they made a run."
Junior guard Abby Dykes had a team-high 17 points for De Queen (19-10), which fought back from a 17-point deficit to make things tight in the fourth quarter. Sophomore forward Josie Burke had 16 points.
Farmington, which went 23 of 52 and held a 27-26 rebounding advantage, will face Little Rock Parkview or Paragould in the second round Friday at 1 p.m. But the Lady Cardinals did have a few edgy moments in the fourth quarter.
Farmington, which held a 29-24 lead at halftime, led 49-34 with 6:21 left in the game. De Queen went on 14-2 run, sparked by a pair of three-pointers from Dykes, to slice its deficit to three. The Lady Leopards had a chance to tie the game or cut their margin to one on their next possession, but a turnover jump-started a 7-0 spurt for the Lady Cardinals that gave them the boost they needed to pull away.
De Queen finished 19-of-48 shooting for the game, including a 7-of-16 effort in the final quarter, to aid its comeback attempt.
"De Queen is a scrappy bunch," Johnson said. "They've got kids that can make shots, and we knew they were not going to go away. Teams that get to this point are not going to lie down.
"But we made just enough plays when we absolutely had to have them to move on."
HOT SPRINGS 51,
HARRISON 37
Senior guard Ariana Guinn scored 29 points, including 16 in the first half, to power the Lady Trojans (27-3) past the Lady Goblins (10-20) and into the second round.
Senior guard Imani Honey had 10 points while junior forward Jaidan Thomas had 8 points and 10 rebounds for Hot Springs, which went 10 of 14 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
Junior guard Brylie Parker scored 13 points and sophomore forward Caroline Cecil had 12 for Harrison, which trailed 31-22 at halftime, got within 41-37 with 3:35 left in the game but didn't score again.
The Lady Trojans finished 12 of 29 from the field and outrebounded the Lady Goblins 25-12. The Lady Goblins ended the game 15 of 39.
NETTLETON 59, SYLVAN HILLS 34
Junior guard Mya Love had 17 points to pace the Lady Raiders (29-2) past Sylvan Hills and into the second round. Junior forward Dasia Young had nine points for the Lady Raiders, who led 30-15 at halftime after scoring the final 12 points of the second quarter. Nettleton will face Vilonia or Hot Springs Lakeside on Friday at 4 p.m. for a second-round matchup. Senior forward Jayla Bell scored 15 points for Sylvan Hills (16-14).
Sports on 02/28/2018