Bradley steps up late for Little Rock Christian

PEARCY — Reagan Bradley missed three free throws in the first 90 seconds of the fourth quarter Thursday night.

She did not let the misses bother her at all.

Bradley scored 34 points —14 of them coming in the final 7:23 — in leading Little Rock Christian to a thrilling 64-60 victory over Nettleton in the Class 5A state quarterfinals at Wolf Arena.

Little Rock Christian (27-2) hit six field goals in the fourth quarter. Bradley scored five of them and assisted on the other.

“I can’t say enough about Reagan,” Little Rock Christian Coach Ronald Rogers said. “Reagan’s our leader. She’s been a starter since she was a freshman. We’re very confident when the ball is in her hands. And she showed great senior leadership tonight. … She was not going to let us lose.”

Bradley, who completed a three-point play with 0.8 seconds left in the third quarter, gave the Lady Warriors the lead for good with a three-pointer at the 4:15 mark.

“My teammates knew once I got rolling they were going to keep feeding me the ball,” said Bradley, who also had four rebounds and five assists. “I got open looks at the rim and I just took them. I was just offensive-minded tonight.”

Despite Bradley’s output, Nettleton (25-3) had a chance to send the game into overtime.

Bradley hit two free throws with 51 seconds remaining to give Little Rock Christian a 6257 lead, but Nettleton senior Dasia Young hit a three-pointer from the right corner and drew an offensive foul on the Lady Warriors’ following possession.

“That play was all Dasia Young,” Nettleton Coach Jason Smith said. “I’ve had her for four years. That’s just who she is. She’s got the highest basketball IQ of any kid I’ve ever been around.”

Nettleton worked for a final shot to tie but the possession ended without a shot. Senior Mya Love drove into the middle of the lane and attempted a pass to senior Tebrya Benford. The ball went through Benford’s hands and out of bounds.

“That was our second option,” Smith said. “We wanted a curl over the top, but that wasn’t there. [Love] drove. They moved up and we had a dump off. We just didn’t catch it.”

The Lady Warriors clinched the victory with 3.9 seconds left when sophomore Wynter Rogers hit two free throws.

There were nine lead changes and six ties in the contest. The biggest lead either team enjoyed was seven points when Little Rock Christian led 24-17 with 3:46 left in the first half.

Young and junior Elauna Eaton each finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Wakiryah Daniels added 10 points and Benford scored nine.

Amber Brown tacked on 13 for the Lady Warriors and Wynter Rogers added 8.

Little Rock Christian was 22-of-42 shooting, 13 of 19 in the second half and 8 of 19 from three-point range. Nettleton was 20 of 40 overall, 13 of 23 in the second half and 8 of 15 on three-pointers.

MOUNTAIN HOME 40, SHERIDAN 36

Sophomore forward Addison Yates scored all 11 of her points in the fourth quarter as the Lady Bombers rallied for a first-round victory over the Lady Jackets.

Sheridan (22-5) led 27-26 starting the fourth quarter, but back-to-back baskets by Yates in the first 90 seconds of the final quarter put Mountain Home (18-10) on top for good.

Sheridan had a chance to tie the game with 40 seconds left, but a three-point attempt by Kassi Martin bounced off the rim. Mountain Home junior Emma Martin put the game out of reach with a free throw with 15.1 seconds left.

Senior Diamond Morris led Sheridan with 15 points and three steals. Senior Brianna McElroy led the Lady Jackets with five rebounds and junior Cassidy Henry also had three steals.

Mountain Home senior guard Payton Huskey and sophomore Kate Gilbert each scored eight points. Gilbert grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and handed out three assists.

JONESBORO 53, BENTON 21

Junior Destiny Salary scored all 12 of her points in the first half as the Lady Hurricane (20-8) cruised to a first-round victory over the Lady Panthers (16-12).

Jonesboro led 13-3 after one quarter and 25-8 at the half.

Destiny Thomas added eight points for Jonesboro, which played Vilonia in today’s quarterfinals. Senior Makenzy Davidson scored 11 for Benton.