Blackhawks to begin Regional play
The Lady Blackhawks are to open regional play for Pea Ridge Wednesday evening when they are scheduled to travel to Morrilton to take on the 4A-4 District champion Clarksville Panthers in an elimination game for the 4A state tournament.
The Blackhawk boys are scheduled to play Dardanelle’s Sand Lizards Thursday evening at 8:30 p.m. in another first-round matchup. The Sand Lizards finished third in the 4A-4 District with the Blackhawks taking second in the 4A-1.
The Lady ’Hawks played Clarksville in December in the semi-finals of the Airedale Classic in Alma. The ’Hawks won that game 48-43 in a very closely fought battle. Clarksville is currently ranked ninth in the 4A state poll with a 22-7 record, just behind Pea Ridge’s fourth-place ranking (23-6). The Lady Panthers finished second behind Pottsville in their conference schedule before winning their district title.
Should the Lady ’Hawks master the Panthers again, they will move into the Region semi-finals to face the winner of Thursday’s game between Berryville and Morrilton. Berryville has a 27-2 mark and is holding down the No. 2 spot in state rankings. Morrilton (19-8) is ranked 11th. Semi-final action will be at 4 p.m. Friday.
Interestingly enough, the second-ranked Bobcats did not win either a Division or District championship this season, losing the divisional race to Harrison and the District tournament to Farmington.
The girls’ Regional other bracket will see thirdranked Farmington playing 23rd-ranked Ozark (14-15) at 4 p.m. Wednesday with the other game witnessing fifth-ranked Harrison (225) taking on 10th-ranked Pottsville (17-9) Thursday.
On the boys’ side of things, the rankings are fairly even, as the ’Hawks bring an 11th ranking and 23-8 record up against Dardanelle’s 14th ranking and 23-6 mark. Not a particularly high scoring team, the Sand Lizards average in the mid-40s on offense, hanging their success on their defense as they allow opposing teams scoring in the mid- to low 30s.
The survivor of the Lizard/’Hawk battle will play the winner of Pottsville/Farmington. Pottsville is the state’s fourth-ranked team with a 23-5 record. The Cardinals counter with an 18-11 record and 20th ranking. The semi-final action is slated for Friday at 8:30 p.m.
The other side of the boys’ bracket will see sixth-ranked Harrison (23-6) playing 25th-ranked Ozark with a 15-12 standard. The Harrison/Ozark winner will play the winner of Morrilton/Huntsville. Morrilton is ranked 13th with a 17-11 record while Huntsville is ranked 18th at present with a 19-11 mark.
The boys’ championship game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday with the third-place game set for 4 p.m.
All first round winners will advance to the 4A state tournament next week in Magnolia. The championship game of the State Tournament will be held the following week in Hot Springs for both boy and girls.
Girls playing in State Tournament
You could say that the Lady ’Hawks will be playing in the state tournament every week during this postseason.
The just concluded District Tournament featured four of the top five teams in the state, with just topranked Batesville not in the field, making the 4A-1 by far the most rugged district tournament in Arkansas. This week’s North Regional field features seven of the top 11 teams in the state giving credence to the claim of being the toughest regional in Arkansas.
Whoever survives the regional action will be favored to make it to the semi-finals in Magnolia. There is likely to be at least one team from the 4A-1 to make it to the girls final in Hot Springs.
MaxPreps State 4A Basketball girls poll Feb. 15
1. Batesville
2. Berryville
3. Farmington
4. Pea Ridge
5. Harrison
6. Brookland
7. Star City
8. DeQueen
9. Clarksville
10. Pottsville
11. Morrilton
12. Highland
13. Stuttgart
14. Pulaski 24-3 26-3 22-7 23-6 22-5 18-6 22-4 24-2 21-7 17-8 19-7 18-11 24-3 17-8
15. Warren
16. Camden
17. Pocahontas
18. eStem
19. Gravette
20. Nashville
21. Bauxite
22. Prairie Grove
23. Ozark
24. Heber Springs
25. Valley View
26. Lonoke
27. Mena
28. Magnolia
29. Huntsville
30. Monticello
31. Dardanelle
32. Forrest City
33. Southside
34. McClellan
35. Gentry
36. Dover
37. Shiloh
38. Crossett
39. Robinson
40. Mills
41. Blytheville
42. Westside
43. Arkadelphia
44. Malvern
45. Hope
46. Hamburg
47. Wynne 13-5 18-6 19-10 18-10 13-13 14-7 20-9 9-14 14-15 12-12 11-16 14-11 13-12 12-10 8-19 11-12 9-16 10-13 6-21 9-13 8-16 9-18 6-19 11-12 8-15 8-17 4-21 4-19 7-18 5-18 1-16 2-23 0-24