REGIONAL: Lady Blackhawks defense was solid; opponents’ free throws clinched the game
5 seconds left, Leah Telegemeier hit both ends of a 1 and 1 to get the Hawks back to within one, setting up a controversial play to end the half. Morrilton’s Cheyanne Kemp was in the corner of the half court with the clock about to expire. Kemp, threw a desperation attempt at the goal, way off the mark, but a foul was called that no one saw but one referee. Kemp made all three shots to give Morrilton a 19-15 halftime advantage.
The Hawks came out of intermission on fire, with Winn scoring on a rebound, followed by a Dayberry free throw. Five seconds later, Winn scored again off a rebound and the Hawks were ahead 20-19 with 4:14 left in the third. Then much like the end of the second quarter, the Dogs responded with a trey, the Hawks were called twice for ball handling violations, with Kemp hitting two more free throws to send Morrilton into the fourth period with a 4-point spread, 24-20.
Winn hit a layup to start the final period, with Morrilton answering with a trey to increase the lead to 5 with 7 minutes left. Dayberry hit a deep jumper to get to within 3 points of Morrilton, but the Dogs ripped another trey to get even further ahead, 30-24 with 5:18 left.
Winn and Morrilton traded shots to keep the deficit six at 32-26, then Winn dropped in another layup to reduce the lead to four at 32-28. Dayberry then brought the Hawk faithful to their feet when she scored on a rebound, then hit the accompanying free throw to cut the Dog lead to 32-31. Moments later after a missed Dog shot, Winn went in for a layup, was fouled with no call, then pulled off a rebound and acrobatic hook shot to retake the lead for Pea Ridge at 32-31.
With less than two minutes left, the Dog defense went all in to guard the perimeter, leaving the goal unguarded, but the wide open shot underneath was missed, the Hawks with a precarious 1-point lead. The Hawks then had a chance to put the game away with one and one opportunities with a minute left. Pea Ridge misfired on both chances, but Winn’s alert steal after the second miss led to a Dog foul. Winn ripped both shots to put the Hawks up 35-32 with 55 seconds left.
Morrilton then maneuvered for a good shot at a 3-pointer and they succeeded, draining the ball with 28 seconds left to tie the score at 35-35.
With the game tied and the clock running out, Winn made a move to the basket with the whole Dog defense set to stop her. Winn alertly flipped a pass underneath to senior Ravin Cawthon who put it in off the glass, regaining the lead with 5 seconds left.
The Dogs were in a fix. With the Hawks having only five team fouls, Pea Ridge could slow the Morrilton throw-in, commit a foul with 2-3 seconds left, forcing their opponents to throw it in again with almost no time to run a play. Enter the botched call, giving the Dogs free throws on any contact, which led to a foul called with 1 second left. Kemp, who went 12 for 12 from the line, converted them both, snatching a victory away from the Hawks, sending the game into overtime. The Hawks could hit a shot in OT with Winn’s two free throws all the Hawks offense they could muster. Morrilton scored mostly free throws in taking the 46-39 final win.
“There were so many great plays made this week. We are proud of all our whole team for winning a regional runner up,” Heath Neal, head coach, said.
The Hawks will be playing Nashville at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 10, in Morrilton in the first round of the state tournament. Should they get past the Scrappers, they will then play Friday, March 12, against Little Rock Pulaski, the East Regional winner who has a first round bye.