Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Seniors carry Wonderview to repeat
HOT SPRINGS — There was nothing fancy about Wonderview’s approach to Saturday’s clash with 1A-5 Conference rival Rural Special. A heavy dose of senior leadership was all that it needed.
Wonderview’s four upperclassmen — led by guard Faith Byers — teamed for 58 points and 19 rebounds as the Lady Daredevils sprinted past the Lady Rebels 68-46 to win their second consecutive Class 1A girls state title in front of 4,590 at Bank OZK Arena.
“I’m just proud of these four seniors,” Wonderview Coach Jerod Squires said referencing Byers, Hadley Jones, Kailey Gullett and Bailey Wright. “I think that was their 112th win out of the last three years against 11 losses, and that’s not counting after their junior high season when they moved up. To be the first group to ever win back-toback state championships is truly special.
“They had to deal with a lot of distractions this year, injuries and a lot of things that could’ve thrown teams off. But they never flinched, they never blinked, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
It was a collective effort for Wonderview (34-6), which beat Mount Vernon-Enola in last year’s final, but the Lady Daredevils followed the leads of their senior quartet to dispatch Rural Special for the fourth time this season.
Byers was named the most valuable player after finishing with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 2 assists. Gullett had 16 points, while Jones had 12 and Wright 8. The four also accounted for 16 of the team’s 19 steals – an aspect that would plague the Lady Rebels all game.
Rural Special (30-12), which had won its previous three state tournament games by an average of 29 points, turned the ball over 20 times, resulting in 21 Wonderview points. The Lady Rebels were making their first appearance in the title game since 2005 and have just two seniors on their roster. Coach Trey Berry attributed his team’s inexperience and youth as the deciding components in the final outcome.
“You could tell that [Wonderview] had been here before,” he said. “They’ve been here three years in a row, with the fans, the open gym, the lights. … they were ready for it. We’re young, and I was hoping that wouldn’t play a factor in it.
“But it did. I had a feeling it was gonna happen. I was just hoping it wouldn’t.”
Sophomore forward Kamryn Sutterfield had 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for the Lady Rebels, who shot 18 of 42 (42.9 percent). Sophomore guard Abbey Linville added 11 points.
The Lady Daredevils were 27 of 57 (47.4 percent) and held a 35-26 rebounding cushion, but they didn’t completely run away from the Lady Rebels until late in the first half. Rural Special led 1716 toward the end of the first quarter before Byers hit the first of two buzzer-beating shots to put Wonderview back in front. A short basket from junior forward Mallory Jones at the start of the second quarter launched a 13-4 burst that sparked the Lady Daredevils to a 31-21 lead.
The Lady Rebels responded with consecutive buckets from Sutterfield and Linville to cut into their deficit, but Wonderview ended the quarter on a 10-2 run, capped by Byers’ lay-up at the horn, to take a 41-27 lead.
“We added a few little wrinkles, knowing that they’ve got three games on film for us,” Squires said. “We hadn’t pressed them much at all in the first three games, and we wanted to come out and start the game like that. That helped get some nervous energy out.”
Rural Special remained at a respectable distance by riding the coattails of Linville and Sutterfield. The duo combined for 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting over the first two quarters. The Lady Rebels shot the ball effectively in the first half (11 of 18) and had just as many rebounds (12) as the Lady Daredevils did by halftime. The issue for Rural Special was that it couldn’t hang on to the ball, and those turnovers seemingly came at the most inopportune moments.
“We weren’t very disciplined on offense,” said Berry, whose team turned the ball over 13 times in the first half. “The momentum was in their favor for most of the game, and that goes back to experience. Even if we did manage get a turnover from them, they didn’t get flustered.
“It was like it never happened. They just came back and stayed composed.”