Providence Academy advanced to final
If this season is any indication of how Providence Academy’s girls will handle the transition to playing Arkansas Activities Association schools, they should be able to adjust nicely.
Providence improved its record to 7-2 this season against AAA schools with a 44-35 victory over Mena during the Thursday, Dec. 28, semifinal round of the Lady Blackhawk Holiday Invitational.
The Rogers-based private school, which improved to 10-3 overall with the win, announced last month that it will join the AAA next season and will be listed as a Class 3A school. In the meantime, the Lady Patriots have had success against bigger schools with victories over Fort Smith Southside, Bentonville West, Siloam Springs, Pea Ridge and now Mena.
“It’s a big jump, but we play a lot of the AAA schools,” Providence coach Jeff Daniels said. “It will be a transition, and one we’re looking forward to.”
The Lady Patriots appeared to be in control after Ava Maner’s bucket made it a 40-27 game with 5:53 remaining, but they went scoreless for almost 5 minutes. That gave Mena a chance to get back into the game, and Kate Wilson’s bucket pulled the Lady Bearcats within 40-35 with 2 minutes remaining.
Providence, however, broke out of its scoring slump when Anna Imbo hit a bucket with 1:08 remaining, and Lola Kiraga added two free throws to seal the victory.
“We worked on the press earlier, and we had the wrong person take the ball out,” Daniels said. “Just made a bad mistake there, but we responded. We were trying to run clock and take a good shot, but I thought we let the (shot) clock get too deep before we started our actions — really, three possessions in a row.
“Our senior guard play, Ava Maner and Anna Imbo, were really good. Josie Phillips has helped us, and I thought she was really good on the defensive end.”
Karolina Kiraga had 15 points for Providence, which used a 15-3 run to establish a 17-7 first-quarter lead. The Lady Patriots led by as much as 13 as Abby Eoff’s 3-pointer made it 38-25 early in the fourth quarter before Mena made its comeback attempt.
Imbo added 10 points and was the only other player in double figures for Providence, which was set to play Pea Ridge for the third time this season in the championship game at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 29. The two teams have split their first two meetings, with Pea Ridge winning on Providence’s home floor and the Lady Patriots returning the favor during the McDonald County Tournament.
Pea Ridge 51, Viola 17
Pea Ridge held Viola to just two field goals for the entire first half and cruised into the championship game.
Kailey Hallmark’s bucket with 3:28 left in the first quarter tied the game at 4, but it was also the last one for the Lady Longhorns. Pea Ridge (10-7) seized the moment and closed out the first quarter with 14 unanswered points for an 18-4 lead, then outscored Viola 14-1 in the second quarter for a 32-5 halftime cushion.
Brooklyn Winn had 13 points and was the only player in double figures for Pea Ridge. Hallmark had 6 points for Viola, which plays Mena in a 2:30 p.m. third-place game.
Star City 52, Fort Smith Southside 43
Star City used a 10-0 run in the third quarter to get some distance from Southside and claim a win in the Thursday, Dec. 28, early consolation game.
The Lady Bulldogs led 2721 at halftime, but the Lady Mavericks had pulled within 29-25 in the third quarter. The Lady Bulldogs led 41-27 after three quarters before Southside (1-12) used some full-court pressure to get baskets and make the game closer.
Kaila Robinson had 14 points to lead the Lady Mavericks while Felcity Suggs scored all 12 on three-pointers. Bre Moore paced Star City with 18 points while Shay Rochelle added 10.
Southside was to play at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 29, in the seventh-place game against Bauxite, which suffered a 58-28 loss to Hamburg in the other consolation game.
Hamburg and Star City, both of the 4A-8 Conference, were to square off at 12:30 Friday, Dec. 29, in the fifth-place game.