Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Panthers, Tigers win regional titles
WEST FORK — If Bergman’s girls have to play Valley Springs again this season, as least it will be for the ultimate prize — the Class 3A state championship.
But for now, Lady Panthers Coach James Halitzka would rather prepare for somebody else, even though Bergman claimed its fourth win in as many games this season against its 3A-1 Conference rival, defeating the Lady Tigers 55-28 in the Class 3A Region 1 tournament championship.
“It’s a love-hate rivalry,” Halitzka said. “Me and [Valley Springs] Coach [Ryan] Johnson go a really good job during the season, in junior high and senior high, we never schedule a tournament together.
“For the past four years, we play two conference games, the district final and the regional final, so you’re guaranteed four games. So we keep four the max — unless we meet in the finals.”
Bergman ( 34- 4) set the tone during a five- minute stretch in the first quarter after Valley Springs (29-12) claimed an early 5-2. Madeline Moon, the Lady Panthers’ senior post, drilled a three-pointer to spark a 10-0 run and caused Johnson to call time with 1:48 left in the first quarter.
Less than 30 seconds later, Bergman extended that string to 17 unanswered points, with Moon’s second three-pointer giving her team a 19-5 cushion. The Lady Panthers went from there to lead 36-16 at halftime, 48-21 after three quarters and forced the running clock when Kiersten Lowry’s three-pointer made it a 51-21 game to start the fourth.
“Their game strategy in all three games before was to take away [Maddi] Holt and [Ruby] Trammell and let anybody else have them if they want it,” Halitzka said. “Maddi and Ruby still have done a great job of finding a way to score, but we knew they were going to push extra hard to not let Maddi and Ruby score.
“We emphasized that we were going to find baskets away from that, so we set up.
Moon was going to come up because they won’t guard her from 3, and she’s a good practice shooter. I told her she was going to shoot 3 threes, and she comes out and hits two in the first quarter. That helps when they have to open up and guard her.”
Holt and Lowry had 14 points apiece and Moon added 11 for Bergman as the defending Class 3A champion will open state tournament action with a 4 p. m. game Tuesday against Jessieville at Lamar. Willis finished with nine points to lead Valley Springs, which will play the final first-round state tournament game against Glen Rose at 4 p.m. Thursday.
In earlier action, Flippin needed a fourth-quarter rally to claim a 48-39 victory over Cossatot River and win the third-place game. Ally Hodges had 15 points for the Lady Bobcats, including 8 to lead Flippin’s 24-8 outburst over the final 8 minutes.
BOYS
CHARLESTON 70, VALLEY SPRINGS 58
Charleston’s defense answered the call once again against a Valley Springs team that had averaged 91 points per game in its first two regional games.
Charleston (15-5), which allowed 45 and 49 points in earlier wins over West Fork and Booneville, held Valley Springs without a field goal for a full 8 minutes in the first half to take control. Almost half of Valley Springs’ points came in the fourth quarter after Charleston had built a 55-31 lead.
“We pride ourselves defensively,” Charleston Coach B.J. Ross said. “We’re physical, and we’re aggressive. We have really quick hands and good instincts. That was the key.
“We thought we had an advantage with our defense against their offense, but the way they’ve been shooting it and scoring, you get confident and that basket gets really big. We stressed defense, and the kids executed the game plan.”
Valley Springs (24-18) had taken a 2-0 lead on a Maddax Johnson basket 21 seconds into the game before Charleston took over. The Tigers held Valley Springs to just three free throws for the remainder of the first quarter en route to a 20-5 lead and went on to enjoy a 38-18 halftime cushion.
Brandon Scott had 29 points and Brevyn Ketter had 25 for Charleston.
Kaden Horn had 19 points for Valley Springs, with 12 of those coming in the fourth quarter, while Dason Hensley added 10.
In a third-place game earlier Saturday, Bergman romped for a 68-27 victory over Booneville. Dylan Friend had 17 points for the Panthers, followed by Kaden Ponder with 15, while Walker Patton and Sawyer Schubert added 10 apiece.