Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
TODAY’S HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL STATE FINALS
1A girls
BAY LADY YELLOWJACKETS VS. WONDERVIEW LADY DAREDEVILS TIME 7 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
BAY
NO. POS. PLAYER HT. CL 10 G Abby Frisby 5-6 So. 21 G Whitlee Layne 5-6 So. 35 G Mallory Hartley 5-7 So. 25 G Sarah Blackman 5-8 Jr. 24 C Sydney Higgins 5-10 Sr. KEY RESERVES Kaylee Crain, 6-0, So.; Shelby Corn, 5-7, So.; Bailee Kirby, 5-4, Fr.; Bethany Riga, 5-0, Fr.
COACH Braden Watson
CONFERENCE 1A-2 East
RECORD 32-9 POSTSEASON RESULTS (Regionals) def. Calico Rock, 68-27; lost to Izard County, 44-41; def. Maynard, 75-49. (State) def. Bradley, 72-24; def. Nemo Vista 49-41, def. Acorn, 57-47, def. Mount Vernon-Enola 53-50.
PROBABLE STARTERS
WONDERVIEW NO. POS. PLAYER HT. CL 5 PG Faith Byers 5-4 So. 23 SG Bailey Wright 5-6 So. 14 F Kailey Gullett 5-6 So. 12 F Brooke Zimmerman 5-9 Jr. 22 C Shelby Reynolds 5-9 Jr.
KEY RESERVES Bre Gottsponer, 5-6, Jr.; Rylee Raper, 5-4, Jr.; Hadley Jones;5-4, So.
COACH Jeremy Simon CONFERENCE 1A-5 North RECORD 38-4 POSTSEASON RESULTS (Regionals) def. Midland, 68-41; lost to Mount Vernon-Enola, 62-56; def. Concord 64-46. (State) def. Maynard, 81-39; def. Jasper, 40-33; def. Kirby 53-36; def. Norfork, 54-47.
NOTEWORTY Bay’s Whitlee Layne averages 20 points a game. Mallory Hartley averages 12 points and seven rebounds a game. Sarah Blackman and Sydney Higgins each average 10 points a game. … Wonderview’s Brooke Zimmerman averages 17 points a game. Faith Byers averages 12 points a game. Bailey Wright averages 10 points a game. … Bay is scoring 58.3 points a game, while Wonderview averages 57.7. Both teams lost in the regional semifinals and are currently on five-game winning streaks. … Bay is making its first State Final appearance. Wonderview is making its fourth State Final appearance, all since 2012.
TIME 2A boys
EARLE BULLDOGS VS. MARKED TREE INDIANS 8:45 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
EARLE
NO. POS. PLAYER HT. CL 3 G B.J. Murray 6-1 Sr. 0 F Dontrell Johnson 6-2 Sr. 32 F Travonta Doolittle 6-2 Jr. 5 F Kevon Smith 6-2 So. 24 C Gerry Bohannon 6-4 Jr.
KEY RESERVES Travis Rogers, Sr.; Darious Cisero, So. COACH Billy Murray CONFERENCE 2A-3 RECORD 29-5 POSTSEASON RESULTS (Regionals) def. Buffalo Island Central, 73-41; East Poinsett County, 67-53; Clarendon, 84-71. (State) def. Lavaca, 78-47; Jacksonville Lighthouse, 82-62.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MARKED TREE NO. POS. PLAYER HT. CL 2 F Markel Perry 6-1 Jr. 3 F Colby Malone 5-11 Jr. 13 G Julian Booker 6-0 Jr. 32 C Nick Andrews 6-4 Sr. 5 F Tray Brown 6-3 Fr. KEY RESERVES Jack Brown, 5-8, Fr.; Shy Anderson, Sr.; Paul Coleman, Jr.; Eli McCrary, Fr.; Kentarius Allen, Jr. COACH Barbara Wilburn-Covington CONFERENCE 2A-3
RECORD 28-11
POSTSEASON RESULTS (Regionals) def. Des Arc, 70-27; lost to East Poinsett County 57-48, def. England, 52-44 (State) def. Bearden, 82-64; def. Cutter Morning Star, 62-57.
NOTEWORTY It is the second consecutive year that the 2A-3 Conference has placed two teams in the 2A state championship game. Earle and East Poinsett County played in the 2016 finals. … Earle is making its seventh State Final appearance. The Bulldogs have won seven state titles, their first coming in 1974. Marked Tree is making its second State Final appearance. The Indians won state titles in 1988 and 2001. … Earle is averaging 71.4 points a game. … This will be the third meeting between the two teams this season. Earle won at home, 72-63 in overtime, on Nov. 29; Marked Tree won the return match, 65-48, on its home court on Jan. 10. … Marked Tree is averaging 61.0 points a game behind Colby Malone (13.1 points). Markel Perry leads the team in rebounding (9.1), assists (4.0) and steals (3.6).