HOT SPRINGS -- Jonesboro made sure its first appearance in a state championship game wasn't a wasted trip.
Khiandra Perry scored a game-high 16 points and Donita Webb added 12 as the Lady Hurricane won the Class 6A girls state title with a 50-43 victory over Russellville at Bank of the Ozarks Arena in Hot Springs.
MVP
STARR TAYLOR
JONESBORO Senior guard Starr Taylor missed 11 of 13 shot attempts and went 3 of 7 from the foul line, but she had 8 rebounds and 3 steals to go along with her 7 points. Taylor, who had 24 points in Jonesboro’s semifinal victory over El Dorado last week, had been nursing several injuries, but she refused to use that as an excuse afterward.
AND ONES
Russellville nearly lost in the second round of the Class 6A state tournament and needed a late bucket to beat Marion 47-46. Jonesboro needed a last-second shot to beat Greenwood 34-32 and advance out of the second round. … Jonesboro Coach Jodi Christenberry spent seven years as an assistant coach under Brian Boyer at Arkansas State. … Russellville Coach Sherry White was looking to win her sixth state title at her third school Thursday. White won four titles at Harrison and one at Hot Springs. She also took Fort Smith Southside to the 2013 Class 7A final.
-Erick Taylor
"This is such an amazing feeling," Jonesboro Coach Jodi Christenberry said. "Coming out for the first time and playing in our first championship game ... I can't say enough about the girls. We were able to shake the nerves and countered [Russellville] runs.
"It was just a good game altogether, and it came at just the right time."
The Lady Hurricane had seven players score, which turned out to be huge because leading scorer Starr Taylor had an off night from the field. The Arkansas State commit finished with seven points on 2-of-13 shooting, but she also added 8 rebounds and 3 steals while being named tournament MVP.
Still, Jonesboro (20-12) had to overcome a dreadful fourth quarter and a rash of late turnovers. The Lady Hurricane, who were 16-of-46 shooting, didn't hit their first basket in the quarter until Webb's layup with 20 seconds left. But that shot gave Jonesboro a 48-43 lead and sealed the championship.
"They battled and battled," Christenberry said. "Our signature all year has been our defense because you can't always force the ball to go in the hole. But defensively, you can always be there night in and night out and give it your best.
"And they left it all out there on the floor in that fourth quarter."
The loss was bitter for Russellville (22-7), which was looking to win its first state title since 1978. The Lady Cyclones trailed by as many as 11 points in the second half but got as close as 46-43 with 30 seconds left in the game, but Webb's late basket took the air out of Russellville's comeback.
"It's tough," Russellville Coach Sherry White said. "Jonesboro came out ready to play and did exactly what they needed to do to win."
Foul trouble hampered Russellville early in the game. Senior forward Shameka Ealy, who's committed to Missouri State and is the Lady Cyclones' leading scorer, picked up her third foul with 55 seconds left in the first quarter after going over Taylor's back for a rebound.
The Lady Cyclones trailed 18-8 when Ealy went out, but they battled back behind senior guard Abbie Looper and junior forward Bailey Wilbers, who combined to score Russellville's final 17 points of the half. Looper's three-pointer at the end of the first quarter cut Jonesboro's lead to 20-13, and her 22-footer at the start of the second ignited a 10-3 run, which allowed the Lady Cyclones to tie the game at 23-23.
Taylor and Looper exchanged baskets over the next two possessions before Jonesboro scored the last eight points of the quarter to grab a 33-25 lead at halftime.
"I gotta admit, I was a little scared over there," Christenberry said. "We weren't able to stretch it out with Ealy in foul trouble, but that's a testament to their other players stepping up. That's the bottom line.
"Their kids stepped up and weren't going to go down without a fight."
Jonesboro contained Russellville point guard Alyssa Owens in the first half. Owens, the Lady Cyclones' second-leading scorer, went scoreless over the first two quarters and didn't hit her first basket until the 5:11 mark of the third quarter. Her three-pointer pulled Russellville to within 36-30, but a 15-footer from Perry and a three-pointer from Webb on back-to-back trips allowed the Lady Hurricane to open up a 41-30 lead.
Looper's fourth three-pointer and Tori Underhill's layup at the horn sliced Russellville's deficit to six heading into the fourth. But like their opponents, the Lady Cyclones struggled in the final quarter, hitting just 1 of 11 shots.
Ealy finished with 15 points for Russellville, which shot 15 of 45 for the game. Looper added 14 points while Wilbers had 9 points and 9 rebounds.
Sports on 03/11/2016