Ready, aim, victory
Crockett locks in Fayetteville in second half
HOT SPRINGS — Sydney Crockett claims the rim did not look any bigger in the second half on Saturday but the final statistics indicate otherwise.
Crockett — a 5-10 senior guard — hit 1 of 8 shots in the first half but finished with a game-high 23 points as Fayetteville knocked off defending champion Conway 80-65 in the Class 7A girls state championship game at the Bank of the Ozarks Arena.
“I think it was just a matter of me getting adjusted, telling myself to breathe and get in tune with the game,” said Crockett, who hit five consecutive three-point shots during the second half.
Crockett finished 7 of 17 from the floor, including 6 of 11 from three-point range. She also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. She was 6 of 8 on three-pointers in the second half.
Crockett has been hampered by a foot injury for most of the season, but she was not bothered by anything during the second half on Saturday.
“Does she usually shoot like that?” Fayetteville Coach Vic Rimmer said. “Yes, when she’s healthy. She’s been healthy the last few weeks.”
Fayetteville (24-6) won for the 16th time in its past 17 games to earn its sixth state title, its first since 2011. The Lady Bulldogs finished 26 of 55 from the floor while Conway (24-7) was 5 of 26 on three-point attempts.
“It comes down to who makes shots in this setting,” Conway Coach Ashley Nance said. “If you’re not making shots, obviously it’s going to be hard to win. And we couldn’t make an outside shot to save our lives.”
Arkansas signee Jordan Danberry led Conway with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 3 steals, but Danberry made 3 of 9 shots and was held without a rebound in the second half.
Fayetteville junior Jameisha “Pink” Jones scored 19 points and handed out a game-high 5 assists, 4 of which came in the final two quarters.
The game featured seven lead changes in the first six minutes, but after Jones hit back-to-back shots in the final 1:23 of the quarter, the Lady Bulldogs never trailed again.
Junior guard Alexis Tolefree hit a 5-footer 15 seconds before halftime to pull the Lady Wampus Cats to within 34-31 at the half, but Fayetteville scored the first 12 points of the second half, capping the effort with back-to-back three-pointers by Lauren Holmes and Crockett.
“Defensively, we kept them from getting into the lane,” Rimmer said, explaining Fayetteville’s early second-half scoring spurt. “The second half we didn’t foul them as much because we kept them out of the lane. Holmes’ shooting and Crockett’s shooting were obviously huge for us, but honestly, [Conway] had some open threes and they didn’t knock them down when they normally do.
“Maybe we were making them rush, maybe not, but that was the point.”
Conway closed to within 57-50 in the final quarter, but back-to-back threes by Holmes and Crockett pushed Fayetteville’s lead to 63-51.
Holmes, who was 4 of 7 on three-point attempts, finished with 14 points. Senior Lauren Schuldt added 11 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
Conway senior Kianna Speight added 17 points and grabbed six rebounds. Junior Hailey Estes led the Lady Cats in rebounding with eight.