FARMINGTON -- The opening game of the 5A West Conference basketball tournament had all the appearance of a shootout early before Farmington ran Greenbrier into submission.
The Lady Cardinals won big 76-42 in Cardinal Arena to earn a berth in Thursday's 4 p.m. semifinal against Vilonia. The win also secured Farmington a berth in next week's Class 5A state tournament.
Greenbrier made a trio of early 3-pointers and moved in front, 11-7, only to have Farmington fashion a 19-2 run over the last 4 minutes, 6 seconds of the first quarter. That signaled the beginning of the end of Greenbrier's season.
The Lady Cardinals assumed a 26-13 lead after one quarter and put the game away in the third. They were leading 72-35 at the end of the third quarter.
Greenbrier coach Tobin McCammon liked the hot shooting start, yet acknowledged Farmington eventually overwhelmed the Lady Panthers with quick transition baskets.
"We got off to a good start, but if you're going to trade threes with Farmington that's not a good idea," McCammon said. "Obviously we can't sustain the level of transition Farmington plays. They brought players off the bench in waves and didn't slow down."
Makenna Vanzant had half of Farmington's eight 3-pointers. She led the Lady Cardinals with 24 points. Alexis Roach added 12.
"They (Greenbrier) had seven 3-pointers at the half. It didn't rattle our kids," said Farmington coach Brad Johnson. "We felt eventually the pace would get them. We ran when it was there. When it wasn't there we got good shots. We ran our set game. Our screens were good. Our shots were good."
Hannah Donham and Naylor led Greenbrier with 12 points apiece.
Vilonia 55, Alma 25
Vilonia jumped out to a 20-0 lead over Alma and never looked back on the way to a runaway.
Alma didn't score until senior Bailey Hoffsommer found the hoop 48 seconds into the second quarter. The Airdalettes had no answer for Vilonia's multi-faceted attack. Freshman Laney Mears hit four 3-pointers and led the Lady Eagles with 16 points. Hannah Montgomery scored 15 points mostly on the inside for Vilonia.
Vilonia enjoyed a 30-point lead of 46-16 after three quarters of play, and the fourth was played with a running clock.
Alma senior Laney Mears topped the Airdalettes with nine points.
BOYS
Harrison 50, Vilonia 45
No. 1 seed Harrison and Vilonia battled into the fourth quarter before the Golden Goblins prevailed to turn away a pesky No. 4 seed.
After forcing a Vilonia turnover, Colton Youngblood hit a layup to give the Goblins a 46-45 lead. Vilonia's Caleb Barrow got an open look at a 3-pointer but missed, and Harrison was able to finish off the win at the free-throw line.
Skyler Young scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter for Harrison. Hunter Neeley had 10 for Vilonia.
Morrilton 62, Clarksville 41
A well-disciplined Morrilton (22-7) squad consistently found the open man and defended Clarksville's dribble-penetration well on the way to punching a ticket into the state tournament.
Seven Devil Dogs scored in the first half led by senior guard Laken Dillard with 8 points as Morrilton took a 31-16 halftime lead. Xavier Wright hit back-to-back treys in the third quarter and paced Morrilton with 16 points. Dillard added 14 and Jansen Bell had 10. Teamwork was evident as players passed up shots to find someone with a better look.
Morrilton takes on Harrison in Thursday's 5:30 p.m. semifinal.
Preps Basketball on 02/20/2018