Sylvan Hills duo pile up the points

SYLVAN HILLS 53, BENTON 46

PINE BLUFF — Coaches whose teams finish a game with four total scorers could have reason for concern.

But for Sylvan Hills Coach Shelley Davis, that was of no concern because her backcourt of Jianna Morris and Jayla Stirgus combined for 46 points in the Lady Bears’ 53- 46 win over Benton on Tuesday night in the first round of the Class 5A girls state basketball tournament at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.

“A win is a win, and we’ll take that any way we can get it,” Davis said. “Benton had three or four main kids, too, so as long as the scoring is in the right person’s hands at the right time.”

Jianna Morris, a Louisiana Tech commitment, had 27 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field and 10- of-11 from the free throw line as the No. 4-seed Lady Bears downed the No. 1-seed Lady Panthers. Stirgus added 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

“Jianna Morris is the valedictorian of over 350-something kids. She’s a top-notch, very smart kid,” Davis said. “She knows the game and is very smart when it comes to the strategic part of the game. And Jayla is just scrappy. Those two guards are tough to match up against.”

One big focus Tuesday was stopping Benton’s Alyssa Houston. The multi-sport star for the Lady Panthers presented a size mismatch — something Davis answered with a starting lineup of five guards and a fast tempo.

“I think they played exceptional defense because Houston is tough,” Davis said. “We finally blocked out and rebounded tonight, so we’ve always had that in us, but they played harder tonight and I think that produced the win.”

Houston scored a teamhigh 15 points and grabbed 17 rebounds.

The Lady Panthers shot 20% in the second quarter and 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Sylvan Hills outscored Benton 12-7 and 14-10 in the second and fourth quarters, respectively.

“I didn’t know how our matchup would be today, but I thought play-for-play we matched up better,” Davis said. “I thought Kalayla Miller did a great job on defense making [Houston] tired. … She’s a great athlete, we did try to make her earn it.”

VILONIA 59,

HOT SPRINGS LAKESIDE 29

The Vilonia defense was in full effect against Hot Springs Lakeside.

The Lady Eagles held the Lady Rams to 17.6% shooting from the fieldin taking a 25-9 halftime lead.

Vilonia’s full-court defense was led by sophomore Sidni Middleton and Kinley Mears, as well as junior Lexy Heston. Vilonia forced 23 Lakeside turnovers thanks to 15 steals.

On the offensive end, Middleton led the Lady Eagles with 21 points, followed by 16 from Heston and 9 from Mears.

Amelia Rogers and Allie Pollock each had eight points to lead Lakeside.

WEST MEMPHIS 57, MOUNTAIN HOME 39

West Memphis used a near-perfect third quarter to pull away from Mountain Home.

The Lady Blue Devils held a 26-21 lead at halftime after the Lady Bombers hit four three-pointers in the second quarter to keep within striking distance.

West Memphis responded with a 20-6 third quarter, led by senior guard Janiya Tucker.

Tucker led all scorers with 18 points, followed by Tyra Taylor’s 17 points and Clemisha Prackett’s 13.

Mountain Home was led by Laykin Moore’s 14 points and Amelia Rucker’s 13.