Late basket lifts Lady Wolves over Russellville, into conference final
PEARCY — Three days after breezing past Texarkana, the Lake Hamilton Lady Wolves got a stiff test from last year’s Class 6A runner-up in the 6A-West conference semifinals Tuesday night at Wolf Arena.
Russellville, coached by Sherry White, formerly at Hot Springs (state title in 1990) and Lakeside, held the Lady Wolves without a point in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter and took a 32-29 lead with 1:40 to play after two free throws by Abbie Looper.
After Sara Bershers tied the score at 32 with an and-one layup, Lake Hamilton came up with a defensive stop on the other end to regain possession with less than 30 seconds to play. Following a timeout, Hannah Walker found Bershers alone under the basket for the go-ahead score and the Lady Wolves survived with a 34-32 win, advancing to Saturday’s conference championship against Sheridan.
“We really showed some resiliency and toughness today,” Lake Hamilton coach Blake Condley said. “That’s what I told the girls, at this point in the season it’s all about surviving and advancing, whatever you have to do to win a game. We made one more play than they did tonight, and that was the difference. Their defense was really good tonight, and they had a good game plan; we just made one play late when we needed it.”
Leading 27-26, the Lady Cyclones controlled the tempo early in the fourth quarter, holding the ball for minutes at a time on each offensive possession. Bailey Wilbers put Russellville ahead 30-26 with three minutes to play before Lake Hamilton’s Taylor Wells answered with a trey.
“We knew that they could all shoot the ball, so the game plan was to know where they were, but we got screened off and she made us pay,” White said. “We had some missed free throws and gave them too many offensive rebounds, and they capitalized on them.”
Looper dominated the opening period, scoring the game’s first four points and knocking down a buzzer-beating three-pointer off the glass to give the Lady Cyclones an early 9-7 advantage.
The Lady Wolves found their shooting stroke in the second quarter as Bershers and Walker buried three straight from behind the arc to take an 18-17 halftime lead. Lake Hamilton connected on seven three-pointers in the game, compared to six field goals inside the arc.
“In talking to all the folks who had played Russellville up to this point, they said if you can hit some outside shots you’ll have a chance to beat them,” said. “We want to work on attacking, we want to work on getting to the basket, but I have some shooters, and I want them to be confident that when they get an open look, we’re going to knock it down.”
Behind five points from Looper and three from Rachel Russell in the third quarter, Russellville regained the lead at 27-26 entering the fourth quarter. Looper finished with a game-high 19 points, including three treys.
“She attacks well, she’s got the three-point shot and she’s just been playing smarter down the stretch for us,” said White. “Abbie was a leader for us tonight. She’s developed her jump shot late in the season, and it was working for her tonight.”
Lake Hamilton missed its first three shots from behind the arc in the fourth quarter before Wells knocked one down to start the rally. Walker paced the Lady Wolves with 11 points, and Bershers finished with 10.
“She likes big games and likes the pressure that comes with it,” Condley said of Walker. “She wants the ball in her hands late and tonight she made the right play and found Sara for a game-winner. She’s just tough, and I’m glad she’s on my team.”
Punching their ticket to Saturday’s conference championship, the Lady Wolves secured a first-round bye in the Class 6A tournament beginning March 1 at Wolf Arena. Russellville will play El Dorado in the third-place game on Saturday.
“I’ve told the girls to just enjoy the ride, knowing we’ve clinched a first-round bye in the state tournament,” said Condley. “If we can ride that momentum into Saturday and next week, I think that would be fantastic. It’ll be a lot of fun.”