Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Berryville girls eager for postseason run
SPRINGDALE — Berryville is 28-2 with its only losses coming at the hands of Gravette and Pocahontas, the defending state champion in Class 4A.
Even more impressive is the Lady Bobcats have only one senior on their roster after reaching the state semifinals the past two seasons.
Berryville will face Dardanelle at 4 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the Class 4A North Regional Tournament at home in Bobcat Arena. The Lady Bobcats will attempt to regain momentum after losing to Gravette 4944 on Saturday in the championship game of the 4A-1 Conference Tournament at Lincoln.
The defeat ended a 14game winning streak for Berryville, which is a combined 72-27 the past three seasons.
“Berryville is very good defensively,” Huntsville coach Charles Berry said. “They play the 2-1-2 very well with two good guards and two good post girls. They can
press you and do about anything to you they want.”
Berryville is a junior-dominated team with four players averaging between 12 and nearly 10 points per game. Baylea Smith and Aspen Smith, the lone senior on the team, are the starting guards and sophomore Lexy Anderson plays the forward position. Berryville is intimidating inside with Kelcee Hopper and Hannah Morrell, a pair of 6-foot juniors.
“That makes it hard for people to try and guard us,” Berryville coach Daniel Cornelison said. “They play off each other so well and when people try to help to defend the bigs, that leaves our guards open. It can be a nightmare matchup for some teams trying to guard us.”
It wasn’t a nightmare for Gravette, which outplayed Berryville in the second half. Gravette used a gambling, pressure defense that forced Berryville into a string of turnovers while outscoring the Lady Bobcats 26-17 in the second half.
Pottsville also pulled a surprise by beating Ozark 67-51 in its conference championship game on Saturday. The defeat was the first of the season for Ozark (24-1), which plays Prairie Grove in the 7 p.m. game on Thursday. Pottsville will play Huntsville, and Gravette will face West Fork today in first-round games.
“We’ll have, I think, four of the Top 10 teams in the state (Class 4A) here,” Cornelison said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun with some quality basketball, I can tell you that.”
Like many athletes in a small town, the Berryville girls are a tight-knit group who’ve grown up playing sports together. Seven of the girls also play volleyball and helped Berryville win the conference tournament at Lincoln last fall.
“We’re all best friends, so our chemistry is great,” said Hopper, who scored 19 points against Gravette after Morrell and Anderson got into foul trouble. “Hannah, it’s wonderful having her down there with me. We’ve got each other’s back. She knows when I’m going to throw the ball and I know when she’s going to throw it.”
Berryville is eager for another postseason run after being eliminated by Pottsville and Central Arkansas Christian in the semifinals of the state tournament the past two seasons. The Lady Bobcats know the pursuit can end with one bad game or one bad half like they had against Gravette.
“I like our team, I like our character, and I like how hard we play,” Cornelison said. “I think we’re pretty good, but you have to get some breaks along the way as well.”
“It can be a nightmare matchup for some teams trying to guard us.” — Berryville coach Daniel Cornelison