CONWAY -- Ali Tucker was the catalyst behind the East All-Star girls basketball team's second-half comeback.
Tucker scored 16 points and was named the Most Outstanding Player as the East All-Stars beat the West All-Stars 86-71 on Thursday night in the Arkansas High School Coaches Association girls all-star basketball game at the Farris Center.
The Nettleton standout hit five three-pointers, four of them coming in the second half.
The East trailed the West 43-34 at halftime but used a 32-15 fourth quarter to take a 66-58 lead. In the second half, the East outscored the West 52-28.
East Coach Rusty Garner of Harding Academy said his team's intensity level was lacking in the first half.
"They were more physical than we were," Garner said. "But that 32-point quarter was a credit to our kids.
"I thought the second half was better than we could ask it to be."
Tucker agreed with Garner's assessment.
"We wanted to show we were better than that," she said. "We didn't want to lose, so we picked it up. We came out with fire."
Tucker's three-pointer in the fourth quarter tied the game at 48-48 and Conway guard Jordan Danberry, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's All-Arkansas Preps Player of the Year who is going to Arkansas this fall, gave the East a 51-48 lead after converting a three-point play.
The West tied the game at 51-51, but the East regained the lead by scoring the next eight points, including two three-pointers by Little Rock Central guard Kamry Orr. Star City's Jaida Harden's layup capped the 32-point fourth quarter for the East, which led 66-58 going into the final period.
Tucker made two three-pointers in the quarter to help the East extend its lead to 81-67.
The East's second-half performance was too much for the West, Coach Vic Rimmer of Fayetteville said.
"They made some tough shots," Rimmer said. "I thought we defended them pretty well. They shot the three pretty well. They got to the rim and made some acrobatic shots."
Greenwood's Megan Hartness, who will play at Henderson State, had nine points for the East. Wonderview's Bailey Zimmerman, who will join Danberry at Arkansas, had eight points.
Sheridan's Kadesha Cooper had a game-high 19 points for the West on 8-of-13 shooting. Malvern's Raven Baker and Little Rock Hall's Shakyla Hill had 10 points each. Baker, who will play at Chipola College in Florida, also had five steals.
The East shot 43.7 percent (31 of 71) while the West was held to 30.1 percent (25 of 83). The East also had a 61-55 edge in rebounds and made 9 of 24 from three-point range.
Behind seven points from Baker, the West led 16-7 after one quarter. Baker hit a three-pointer and had four steals in nine minutes of action in the first half.
The East used a 10-0 run to pull within 21-19 midway through the second quarter. But the West scored seven of the final nine points of the quarter to lead 28-21.
The West led by 11 points on two occasions late in the third quarter and led 43-34 at halftime.
Garner said All-Star week was fun for him and his team.
"It's a terrific group of young women who represent their schools so great," Garner said. "What's fun about the week is the practices. All the drills are better. All the shooting drills are better than you're used to back home.
"Watching kids of this caliber compete against each other all week was a thrill. We've only known them for a week, but we're super proud of them."
Sports on 06/26/2015