LR Central 56, Springdale Har-Ber 35
Erynn Barnum and the Little Rock Central Lady Tigers put the clamps on Springdale Har-Ber on Wednesday afternoon.
Barnum, a 6-2 senior center, scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in leading Central to a 56-35 victory over the Lady Wildcats in the opening round of the Class 7A girls state tournament at the North Little Rock High School Arena.
Central (17-9) scored the game's first 13 points and led 21-7 at the half. Har-Ber (13-15) missed its first 10 field-goal attempts, its first 3 three-point attempts and its first five free throws. The Lady Wildcats did not score until senior Maci Mains hit a short jumper with 6:06 remaining in the second quarter.
"I told the girls we have to get out quick on Har-Ber because their two shooters -- Mains and [Savanna] Collins -- can shoot it deep," Central Coach Michael Green said. "If those two could get it going it would be a long night for us. We focused on taking care of them and getting out to a good start. It worked in our favor."
Central advances to play top-ranked Fayetteville in today's quarterfinals.
Barnum scored 12 of her points in the first half and was 16 of 20 from the free-throw line, including a 10-of-12 effort in the second half.
Freshman Lauryn Pendleton scored 8 of her 13 points in the second half, and she finished with a game-high 13 rebounds.
"I ask her to get us 5 or 6 rebounds a game," Green said. "She got 13 tonight. That's just gravy."
Back-to-back baskets from freshman Elyse Smith in the final minute of the third quarter helped Central take a 36-17 lead into the final quarter.
Central finished 16 of 45 from the floor and 21 of 26 from the line. Har-Ber hit only 3 of its first 20 field-goal attempts and finished 13 of 48.
Collins led Har-Ber with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Mains added eight points and handed out three assists.
SPRINGDALE 56
FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 48
Sixth-seeded Fort Smith Southside put a scare into Springdale, but the Lady Bulldogs had too much Marquesha Davis.
Davis, a 6-0 junior, scored 25 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and made 6 steals in leading Springdale (19-9) to the victory.
Southside (4-21) never led but had a chance to take the lead with 3:50 remaining. Trailing 47-46, Southside held possession, but Davis came up with a steal and a layup to start a string of nine consecutive Springdale points.
Junior Ashlyn Minchew added 12 points and made four steals for Springdale.
Southside senior guard Kelly Carson led her team with 18 points and three steals. Junior Moorea Kleck added 11 points, and senior Hannah Rainwater had 9 points and 5 rebounds.
Springdale hit 24 of 54 shots while outrebounding Southside 31-17. Southside was 18 of 35 from the floor.
VAN BUREN 61, BRYANT 32
Junior Kayleigh Evans scored 10 of her game-high 16 points in the first quarter, and senior Jamilyn Kinney scored 13 of her 15 points in the second quarter as the Lady Pointers (18-10) routed the Lady Hornets (11-15) in a first-round game. Van Buren outscored Bryant 21-11 in the second quarter to take a 34-18 lead into the second half. Kalia Walker led Bryant with eight points.
Sports on 03/01/2018