Bergman dominates for 2nd state title in three years
The Bergman and Salem girls’ basketball teams kicked off the 2024 Centennial Bank State High School Basketball Finals, Thursday, in a Class 3A showdown that saw Bergman dominate its way to a 56-33 win — marking the Panthers’ second state title in three years.
“3A was as deep as it’s been in a long time in girls basketball,” Salem head coach J.W. Blevins said after the game. “We were here. We just didn’t play well enough to win.”
Salem (30-7) came into the match as last year’s Class 3A state champion team after taking down Lamar, 56-36, in the same venue.
Bergman (42-3) started the game with a quick barrage of offensive play and then brought out a stifling defense in the second half. Sophomore guard Taryn Holt led the way for the Panthers with 15 points and six rebounds.
“It was a great season; this was an amazing group to coach,” Bergman head coach James Halitzka said. “This group puts in so much extra work. Practice doesn’t win you a state championship. What wins a state championship is the hours you put in outside what you have to do.”
The Panthers got the scoring started with a trio of 3-pointers while the Greyhounds struggled to sink a shot in the opening minutes. Halfway through the quarter, senior guard Marleigh Sellars converted an and-1 play to put Salem on the board. Sophomore guard Montana Franks added a three to trim the deficit.
After the teams traded layups, junior guard Kiersten Lowry sank her third three of the quarter and put Bergman up 14-8. Lowry finished the game with 10 points and six assists.
Holt added a pair of layups, including a euro-step around her defender to make it 18-10 in favor of Bergman. After another free throw in the last seconds, the Panthers took a 19-10 lead into the second quarter.
“It was a great year,” Blevins said. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and I think we improved as much as anyone from November to now. Bergman was just the team that everyone was trying to chase and we happened to be the people to catch them in the state finals, and they played amazing today and beat us.”
Junior forward Callie Hall got the second quarter started with a third-chance put-back before Holt sank a three for Bergman, putting the Panthers up 10.
It wasn’t until the final three minutes of the half before either team scored again when Holt sank another shot from beyond the arc. Sellers answered back immediately with another and-1.
On Salem’s next possession, Sellers drove into the paint and dished it to Hall for an easy bucket. Sellers fin
ished the game with 12 points and eight rebounds for Salem.
Immediately after the Salem basket, senior center Savannah Ketchum scored with a spin move in the post and took Bergman into the half up 27-17.
Ketchum scored on Bergman’s first possession out of the half, prompting an early timeout for Salem. She added another basket right after. Ketchum finished the game with 12 points and nine rebounds.
“I knew this was my last high school game, and I’ve prayed for a state championship since I was little,” Ketchum said. “I knew I had to do what I could, so I had to be big and post-up as much as I could and I knew the rest would come.”
Sellers looked to score early and often for Salem but struggled to find the bottom of the net. She was 4-of-24 shooting, which is a testament to the Panther defense.
“We’ve always been quite a good defensive team,” Halitzka said. “This group is probably my best group that I’ve coached at having so many different people who can guard the other team’s best player.”
Holt and freshman guard Brinley Collins both added a three to put Bergman up 37-19, giving the Panthers firm control of the game. Holt added a layup off a pass from Lowry to put the Panthers up 20 late in the quarter, and that was quickly followed by a steal that turned in two points at the other end for senior guard Madison Huskey.
A pair of free throws for senior guard Ruby Trammell put Bergman up 43-19 going into the final period.
Trammell started off the fourth with a quick layup. Sellers hit a midrange pullup and senior guard Maddie Keen hit a pair of 3-pointers for Salem to get a little offense going into the final stretch.
Sellers fouled out late in the quarter, and with a 50-27 lead, Bergman emptied the bench.
“I feel like we played pretty good,” Trammell said after the game. “As a team, we’re all-around. All of us can do anything. It’s not just one person, so that helps all of us with anything we do.”
Senior guard Paige Hillenburg and junior guard Katie Wilburn each added a late three for Bergman. Salem never stopped fighting as freshman guard Jailyn Strong had six points in the
final minutes.
CLASS 3A BOYS: CAC TAKES FIRST TITLE
Only one basketball program could win its first state championship when Bergman played Central Arkansas Christian in the Class 3A boys’ final Thursday.
First-time champion CAC adds to the four titles won by the school’s girls’ team. The trophy goes to Mustang Mountain in North Little Rock after a 56-47 triumph at Bank OZK Arena.
The Mustangs surged ahead 24-21 at halftime and led the Panthers 39-36 starting the fourth quarter. CAC (26-5) finished strongly after losing two of three games during district and regional tournaments following 20 straight victories.
Greyson Wilson, a fourstar University of Arkansas quarterback commitment who also pitches on the baseball team, made the winning bucket against Dumas in the state semifinals at Elkins. He scored the team’s final bucket Thursday on a baseball-pass fast break. Wilson did not play when Bergman rocked CAC 65-46 Nov. 21.
Before the final, Bergman had won 15 of the past 17 games. The Panthers finished 33-10 after the school won its second girls’ title.