Williams leads way for CAC

NASHVILLE — Central Arkansas Christian got back Christyn Williams and the Lady Mustangs got back on track with a 62-41 victory over Dumas on Wednesday in the opening round of the Class 4A girls state tournament at Scrappers Arena.

With Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey watching, Williams scored 16 of her game-high 28 points and had 5 steals in the first quarter. She missed the past two games — both losses — after injuring her left (shooting) shoulder while diving for a loose ball in last week’s regional semifinals.

The Lady Mustangs (284) advanced to play Berryville at 7 p.m. today.

CAC also saw the return of senior guard Lauren Peoples, who was out a month after fracturing a bone in her right hand. The Lady Mustangs’ only two losses were against 7A power North Little Rock and to Sacramento (Calif.) West Campus during a holiday tournament in Florida.

“It was good to see them both back on the court,” said CAC Coach Steve Quattlebaum. “It makes a big difference for us when they’re both in there.”

The Lady Mustangs took control early with a 13-3 run and led 19-8 at the end of the first quarter with Williams accounting for most of the damage.

“I was a little timid at first because it was my first game back,” said Williams, a 5-10 junior guard. “But after I got going and knew my shoulder was all right, and I was all right. And we got Lauren back, so it felt really good because we were all finally back healthy and back together.” POTTSVILLE 36, LONOKE 34

The Lady Apaches (19-11) led by as many as 10 points early but had to rally late to advance to the quarterfinals.

Pottsville used its 2-3 zone defense to disrupt Lonoke (17-9) and jumped ahead 17-7 with six minutes remaining in the first half. The Lady Jackrabbits closed the margin to 21-17 by halftime and came all the way back to take a 21-20 lead on back-to-back three-pointers by Keiunna Walker.

A 7-1 run to finish the third quarter helped the Lady Apaches regain a 27-21 lead before Lonoke answered by opening the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run. It was capped by Kennedy White’s bucket off an assist by Mickenzie Williams that gave Lonoke a 34-31 lead with 2:44 remaining.

The Lady Jackrabbits didn’t score the rest of the way, although they had a shot to win it on Williams’ long three-point attempt that hit off the back of the rim at the buzzer.

Skylar Campbell had 11 points and Aspen Campbell added 10 to pace Pottsville.

Walker led all scorers with 16 points. OZARK 54, DOLLARWAY 20

The Lady Hillbillies (24-3) spotted themselves a 14-1 lead and led 32-9 at halftime on their way to 34-point rout.

Lexi McClellan scored seven of her team-high 16 points in the first quarter.

Jayana Sanders led Dollarway (1122) with 16 points, including 10 to try to lead a comeback attempt in the third quarter.