P-W teams finish fifth in conference, miss regional cut
3A-6 conference opts to not play conference tournament
The Palestine-Wheatley basketball teams completed their regular season on Saturday playing a conference double header at Central Arkansas Christian, a conference game, originally scheduled for Thursday.
Saturday's games completes P-W's season conference schedule, which leaves both PW teams finishing the year in fifth place in the 3A-6 conference and out of contention for the regional tournament.
The 3A-6 conference opted not to play a conference tournament which would have determined the top four teams into regionals.
In the absence of a conference tournament, which the conference opted not to play due to Covid restrictions, the top four teams from the boys and girls side of the conference will advance to the Class 3A Region 3 tournament beginning next week at Episcopal Collegiate.
On Saturday, all three teams won their final conference games of the season with Helena-West Helena defeating Episcopal Collegiate 70-40 to finish the season as conference co-champions with Jacksonville Lighthouse, an honor that also comes with the No. 2 seed from the 3A-6 into the upcoming Class 3A Region 3 tournament which will be played at Episcopal.
CAC, also 11-3, took down Palestine-Wheatley on Saturday defeating the Patriots 65-30 and will enter regionals as the No. 3 seed from the 3A6.
Jacksonville Lighthouse, 113 rolled to a 70-19 win over Lisa Academy West Saturday and will carry the top seed from the 3A-6 boys conference into regionals while Pine Bluff Dollarway, one notch behind the top three at 10-4 in the conference, will be the fourth seed
In Saturday's win over Episcopal, the Cougars opened a 20-12 lead after the first quarter and pushed that advantage to 41-20 at the half.
The second half was more of the same as the Cougars put up 29 points while holding Episcopal to 20. Saturday's win over Episcopal gave the Cougars the season sweep in the home-and-home series.
A year ago, Helena-West Helena, playing from the 3A-8 conference, got as far as the semifinals of the regional tournament before losing to Dumas and finishing fourth and then losing to Valley Springs in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament.
Head coach Norman Snerling, who spent last season as an assistant coach with the Forrest City varsity girls team, wasn't with the Cougars for last season's run, but said he has found a home in HelenaWest Helena.
In the upcoming Region 3 tournament, scheduled to be played Feb. 25-28, the top four 3A-6 teams will be matched up against the top four teams from the 3A-5, Mayflower, Baptist Prep, Lamar and Jessieville. In varsity girls games played Saturday, the CAC girls handed the Lady Patriots a final conference loss but the final score was not available as of press time.
The Lady Patriots finish the year at 9-14 overall and 6-8 in the conference.
Thye nine-game winning season is best for a Lady Patriot basketball team since the 2014-15 season when that team won 10 games under then head coach Richard Havner.
The Helena-West Helena Lady Cougars, hosting Episcopal Collegiate, were unable to secure a seasonending conference win, in a sleepy game that creeped along toward a final 21-20 win for Episcopal.
That loss, however, didn't cost the Lady Cougars a berth in the upcoming Class 3A 3 Regional tournament, however.
Episcopal led 5-2 in a very slow first quarter, before Helena-West Helena grabbed a 12-7 lead at the half. Both teams battled to a 16-16 tie to end the third quarter before Episcopal was able to put together a 5 to 4 fourth quarter for the one-point win.
The loss leaves the Lady Cougars at 9-5 overall and tied with DeWitt in the final standings, but also earned them the No. 3 seed into the regional tournament.
CAC, at 14-0, will wear the top seed into regionals from the 3A-6, while Episcopal will be the No. 2 seed and DeWitt will be the four seed, according to head coach Kevin Pringle.
His Lady Cougars have been eliminated from the state bracket the last two years, by Mt. View and Hoxie, both first round exits.