Davis cleans up for Springdale
VAN BUREN — Springdale couldn’t put Cabot away at the free-throw line, but not all of the Lady Bulldogs’ misses were bad.
Not with Marquesha Davis keeping plays alive.
Davis scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Springdale to a 49-46 victory over Cabot in overtime Wednesday in the first round of the Class 7A girls state tournament at Clair Bates Athletic Arena.
Springdale (15-14) made 12 of 25 (48 percent) free throws, including four consecutive late in overtime to keep Cabot (1612) from within a basket from tying the game.
Davis had four offensive rebounds and scored off a miss with 16 seconds left in regulation to give Springdale a 42-39 lead.
“I knew when Marquesha grabbed that rebound, there was no way that ball wasn’t getting back in the basket,” Springdale Coach Heather Hunsucker said. “She’s long and she runs the floor so well.”
Springdale outscored Cabot 7-4 in overtime to win and advance to a second-round matchup against North Little Rock at 4 p.m. today.
Cabot forced overtime after falling behind 39-28 with less than seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Lady Panthers also trailed 7-0 and 11-2 in the first quarter.
“We threw a blow, Cabot threw a blow back,” said Hunsucker, whose team lost 51-48 to Cabot in December. “We talked about how we needed to get that momentum back and make our own run. That’s what you have to do in the state tournament. You have to get momentum back in your favor.”
Cabot overcame an early deficit and took its first lead, 16-15, on a three-pointer by Holly Allen in the second quarter. Springdale regrouped and regained a 21-18 halftime advantage after consecutive layups by Davis, a sophomore. The Lady Bulldogs then stretched the lead to 29-23 after a three-pointer by Haley Dougan, who contributed 10 points.
Josie Vanoss had 17 points and Holly Allen 15 for Cabot.
FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE 62, BENTONVILLE 51
Topazia Hawkins scored 19 points and Aniya Webster 14 to lead Fort Smith Northside past Bentonville.
Hawkins made both of her three-point attempts and was 7 of 9 from the freethrow line for the Lady Bears (18-10). Hawkins and Maegan Bandimere each hit three-pointers in the second half when Northside increased its lead to 49-33.
Krista Clark scored 15 points and Abby Roberts 13 for Bentonville (1315).
CONWAY 73, SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 44
Jacie Higgins scored 19 points against her former team to help Conway (23-8) roll to victory.
Higgins played three years at Har-Ber (17-13) before transferring to Conway for her senior season. Asiya Smith led all scorers with 20 points for Conway, which had four players score 10 points or more.
Conway led 22-7 after one quarter and 36-20 at halftime.