Lady Hawks whip Berryville, Farmington
Claim 4A-1 Conference West Division District Championship
Heath Neal’s Blackhawk girls swept through the last two rounds of the 4A-1 District Tournament, whipping Berryville 57-48 in semifinal action Tuesday, Feb. 23, before coming from behind in a thrilling 51-46 victory over the Farmington Cardinals on Thursday, Feb. 25.
Though not one of the Hawks’ better weeks for shooting, a tenacious, lock down defense made points hard to come by for both of the Hawks’ opponents, paving the way for a district championship.
“I’m so proud of these girls,” Neal remarked. “They played such great defense. They had far less turnovers than in previous weeks, and the teamwork was really good.”
Against Berryville, the Bobcats hit on seven 3-pointers in the first half, but the Hawks’ zone defense prevented any buckets inside the arc as they led 31-21 at the half. A third quarter scoring flurry put the Hawks up by 17 with two minutes left in that period as they coasted to victory. The ‘Cats would only go on to score three field goals inside the arc for the whole game.
Against the defending champion Cardinals, the Hawks trailed much of the first half then fell behind by 9 points midway in the third period. However, they turned the tables by outscoring the guests 12-9 over the final 3:43 to go into the fourth quarter tied at 35. Senior Blakelee Winn, who finished with a season high 30 points, scored 11 in the final period to spark the Hawks to a final 5-point victory.
Pea Ridge 57, Berryville 48
The Blackhawks avenged an earlier season 46-35 loss to the Berryville Bobcats, running out to a 17-point third-quarter lead before coasting in for a 9-point win, 57-48, in the 4A-1 District semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 23.
The Hawks employed a very effective zone defense to keep the taller ‘Cats from scoring inside, with the visitors falling to get a single field goal from inside the arc for the entire first half, a half the Hawks led 31-21. While the Bobcats shot a higher percentage for the game, the Hawks dominated rebounding and scored from inside, outside and mid-range to earn the victory.
Senior Ravin Cawthon scored with an offensive rebound to start the game, but the ‘Cats hit the first of 12 treys they would drop through the nets from the outside. After senior Aidan Dayberry hit a freebie to knot the score at 3-3, the guests hit another trey for a 6-3 advantage.
Junior Bella Cates answered from the corner to tie it at 6-6, but the Bobcats shot through another 3-ball and a 9-6 lead. However, in the last two and half minutes, the Hawks would put on an offensive show that put the visitors in a hole they could never quite climb out of.
Dayberry started the run with a trey at the 2:40 mark, tying the score at 9-9. Sydney Spears scored off a rebound, then Winn picked off a pass to drive it in for a layup. Another steal led to a Lauren Wright layup, with the junior guard converting the accompanying foul shot. Freshman Leah Telgemeier ripped a trey and with 4 seconds left, Winn pulled off another steal, scoring another speedy layup to put the Hawks firmly ahead 21-9 at the buzzer.
Berryville hit their fourth trey to start the second period, but Cates answered with her second one, keeping the lead at 12 at 2412. Berryville hit another trey, and after a Hawk turnover, the ‘Cats dropped in another to cut the lead in half at 24-18.
Winn hit from behind the arc, but the ‘Cats were still hot, making their seventh deep shot to stay within 6 at 27-21 with 2 minutes left in the half. With the clock slipping under 2 minutes,
Cates tossed in a 10-foot floater, and a minute later, Winn made another steal, then gathered in a missed Blackhawk shot to score the half’s last points. Pea Ridge went into intermission with a solid 31-21 lead.
Cates started the second half offense off with a trey which was followed up with a Winn floater to push the lead to 36-21 with six minutes left in the third period. The ‘Cats got untracked with another trey, their eighth. Then Winn dropped in a long layup when the defense pushed her out of the lane, whereupon a referee strangely wiped off the goal with an offensive foul call. The Bobcats then went down court to record their first goal inside the arc, cutting the Hawk lead to 10, at 36-26.
Cates pulled off a steal right at mid-quarter and fed Winn for a layup, who was fouled in the process. Winn made the freebie and after Dayberry knocked down a trey moments later, the Hawks were up by 16 at 42-26.
Berryville got another chance at the free throw line and they made both shots, but Cates responded with her fourth 3-ball and the Hawks were further ahead at 45-28 with 2 minutes to go in the quarter. Berryville hustled to make a mini-run, converting four free throws while sinking their ninth trey to close within 10 again at 45-35. Spears made the last goal of the quarter, scoring from underneath as Pea Ridge led comfortably at 47-35 headed into the final period.
Berryville fired in three treys in the first 90 seconds of the period, with Telegemeir answering with one with Winn scoring on another drive to the bucket. The flurry left Pea Ridge still in control, leading 5244.
Taking some of the air out of the ball, the Hawks slowed things down, forcing the guests to foul to get the ball back, Cawthon hit a free throw with Winn and Cates hitting both ends of their shots. Berryville managed but a lone layup over a four-minute period as Pea Ridge crept closer to victory, leading 57-46 with 2 minutes left.
The Hawks missed the front end of three straight one and ones, but the guests could only manage a single field goal from the opportunity as the final score was a nine point Hawk victory at 57-48.
Winn led the scoring with 18, followed closely by Cates with 15, Dayberry 7, Telgemeir 5, Spears 4, Wright 3 and Cawthon 3.