News-Times Staff
WOODLAWN - Strong wrapped up a conference championship on Friday night by outlasting Woodlawn 49-46 in Class 1A-2A District 16 play.
The Lady Bulldogs (16-5, 8-2) finish the regular season with a home-and-home set of games against Rison on Monday and Thursday, and have swept the second half of their league schedule.
Strong has won 12 out of their last 13 games since Christmas with their lone loss coming to Nevada County.
"This group has fought all year," said Strong coach Jason Porter. "With having only six girls at the moment, we have had to pace ourselves during a lot of games.
"During the second part of the season, the girls stepped up their defensive intensity. We had a lot of people look at us and say we would struggle with just six. They took that and ran with it."
Dynasty Davis led Strong with 28 points.
Kiki Shelton was also in double figures with 12 points, while Amaya Smith finished with nine points.
Woodlawn led 24-21 at intermission before Strong rallied in the second half to sweep their two games by a combined four points.
"We talked after the game about the next portion of our season," Porter said.
"A lot of this group was on the state quarterfinal team from last year. We are happy about winning the regular season, but I feel this group is very hungry."
JUNCTION CITY 41,
LAKE VILLAGE 24
JUNCTION CITY - The Lady Dragons (14-11, 10-6) won their fifth straight in Class 3A-4A District 12 play.
Jada Archie had 16 points, while Taykeetria Rogers finished with 14 points for Junction City, who collected their third win in four days.
Jhonda Webster had six points in the win.
After trailing 9-8 at the end of the opening period, Junction City rallied to take a 19-16 lead at intermission before extending their advantage to 26-20 after three periods.
In the junior girls game, Lake Village downed Junction City 40-7.
Tori McLelland had five points for Junction City.
HARMONY GROVE 36,
PARKERS CHAPEL 25
HARMONY GROVE - The Lady Hornets pulled away late in the fourth quarter to pick up a victory in Class 1A-2A District 15 action.
Terri Malone had 18 points for the Lady Trojans (8-16, 6-8), who trailed 22-20 after three periods of play before Harmony Grove outscored the visitors 14-5 to pick up a win.
Sidney Pigott had 19 points for Harmony Grove.
SMACKOVER 43,
DREW CENTRAL 37
SMACKOVER - The Lady Buckaroos (12-10, 8-8) posted a league victory over the Lady Pirates in Class 3A-4A District 12 play.
Sophomore Jordyn White scored 21 points to pace Smackover.
Camree Jones added 10 and went 6-of-6 at the free-throw line.
BOYS
PARKERS CHAPEL 63,
HARMONY GROVE 33
HARMONY GROVE - After playing a thriller at Parkers Chapel last month, the Trojans (22-3, 13-1) jumped out to a 17-4 lead after the opening period and never looked back en route to winning in Class 1A-2A District 15 action.
The Trojans led 36-21 at intermission and 52-29 after three periods of play.
Josh Osborn had 15 points to lead the Trojans, who host Lafayette County Tuesday night with the top seed for the district tournament at stake.
Isaiah Brown had 13 points and Nate Garrett-Evans added 12 points for the Trojans.
Dawson Goodwin finished with eight points and Amari Bell had 15 rebounds in the win.
"This was the most complete game we have had all year," said Parkers Chapel coach Josh Langley.
"It's hard to pin down who really stood out because everyone played so well."
In the junior boys game, Parkers Chapel topped Harmony Grove 52-20.
Nik Garcia had 14 points and Lancer Clark added 13 points for the Trojans.
Trace Shoup was also in double figures with 11 points, and Evan Younger grabbed 12 rebounds.
JUNCTION CITY 63,
LAKE VILLAGE 47
JUNCTION CITY - The Dragons (14-8, 10-6) pulled away methodically to top the Beavers in Class 3A-4A District 12 play.
JaKendall Henderson led Junction City with 13 points, while Jerrodney Tubbs added 12 points and Hishmma Taylor finished with 11 points.
The Dragons led 27-15 at halftime and 44-33 after three quarters of play before holding on to win.
Malachi Armour had 24 points and Tre Mitchell finished with 13 points for Lake Village.
WOODLAWN 66,
STRONG 58
WOODLAWN - The Bulldogs (9-13, 4-6) got off to a fast start by taking leads of 14-6 and 28-21 after the opening period and halftime respectively, but the Bears rallied in the second half to win in Class 1A-2A District 16 action.
Poor free-throw shooting ultimately did in the Bulldogs, who were just 11-of-37 from the charity stripe.
Derrion Davis had 21 points and Trey Smith chipped in with 16 points for Strong, who trailed 45-42 after three periods.
In the junior boys game, Strong downed Woodlawn 40-31.
Fred Williams had 16 points and Emauri Newton chipped in with 13 points for Strong.
WEST SIDE CHRISTIAN JUNIOR HIGH SPLITS AT STATE
LITTLE ROCK - West Side Christian's junior high basketball teams split their two games at the AACS State Tournament on Friday.
The Warriors (13-4) reached the semifinals by knocking off Community Christian 49-24.
Ashton Yarbrough had 18 points to lead the Warriors, who will take on Southwest Christian Academy today at 4 p.m.
Anderson Colley was also in double figures with 10 points, and Spencer McNabb finished with seven points for West Side Christian.
While the Warriors moved on, the Lady Warriors saw their season end with a 31-23 loss to Southwest Christian Academy.
Tori Bates had nine points and Daisy Tabe finished with seven points for West Side Christian (3-6).