LONOKE -- With the rain coming down inside the Gina Cox Center on Thursday night, it was eStem's Mariah Adams who left Pocahontas high and dry.
Adams, a 6-0 senior guard, poured in 29 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and made 6 steals as the Lady Mets decked Pocahontas 74-42 in a first-round girls game of the Class 4A East Region.
Near the end of the third quarter, officials stopped the game to contend with a leaky roof. Water had collected on the eStem offensive end, approximately 4 feet from the top of the three-point line. The game was delayed for eight minutes before the two teams agreed to continue to play with towels on the floor to collect the drip.
"I said 'we're fine with that,' " said eStem Coach Joshua Hayes, whose team plays Central Arkansas Christian in today's semifinals. "We had a 20-point lead at the time and the last thing I want to do is postpone the game."
The Lady Mets (18-7) swamped the Lady Redskins by scoring the game's first 11 points. Pocahontas (20-11) could not absorb eStem's early wave of points, falling behind 26-5 after one quarter and trailing 35-12 at the half.
Adams hit 3 three-pointers in the opening quarter, and by halftime the senior guard had compiled 19 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals.
Adams said she and her teammates were constantly aware of the obstacle course on their end of the court.
"That was very bizarre," Adams said. "It was hard to adjust to, but we did it. ... Having the big lead helped but we knew we needed to keep the momentum going and our intensity up."
Junior guard Makayla Miller added 16 points and handed out four assists. Junior guard Jaylen Mallard grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds while making three steals.
Pocahontas was paced by 16 points from junior guard Rylie Mangold while senior center MiKayla Kirk added nine points to go along with her 11 rebounds.
RIVERVIEW 72,
HIGHLAND 44
Junior guard Abbie Jiles scored 27 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, made 3 steals and hit 9 of 10 free-throw attempts as Riverview (23-8) advanced to today's regional semifinal against host Lonoke.
Riverview's uptempo style created problems for the Lady Rebels from the start. The Lady Raiders hit 3 of their first 4 three-point attempts and were 13 of 25 from the floor in the first half.
"We like to push the pace and create some turnovers," Riverview Coach Ryan Smith said. "We thought we could bother them. We try to play as fast as we can."
Riverview scored 11 of the first 13 points, led 19-9 at the end of the first quarter and 43-23 at the half.
"Our ball movement was good," Jiles said. "My shots just started falling. Once we started hitting our outside shots that opened things up for all of us. Once we hit those threes, they had to pay attention."
Sophomore Parker Smith, senior Ebonee Whitley and junior Alexis Broadway all hit three-pointers in the opening quarter.
"That was a good start," Smith said. "We do a good job of shooting the threes. We're all good shooters. All of my starting five are guards and they can all knock them down. That makes a big difference."
Highland (15-15) picked up a team-high 11 points from senior guard Kali Koeling.
4A EAST REGION BOYS
RIVERVIEW 41, BROOKLAND 35
J.T. Smith scored 27 of Riverview's 41 points and Isiah Patterson made a key steal to close out the game as the Raiders (24-7) rallied for a victory over the Bearcats (20-10).
Riverview plays Baptist Prep in a semifinal tonight.
Brookland led 17-16 at the half and for most of the game, but Smith hit a shot with 1:19 left in the third quarter to give the Raiders a 29-28 lead that they never lost.
Patterson finished with nine points. Braden Smith led Pocahontas with 10 points.
SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE 75,
GOSNELL 53
Junior Grant Patterson led the Southerners (26-5) with 27 points -- 25 of which came in the first three quarters -- in a first-round victory over the Pirates.
Southside advances to play Jonesboro Westside in today's regional semifinals.
Patterson scored 17 of his points in the first half and the Southerners used a 17-8 second quarter to take a 32-24 halftime lead. Tom Miholjcic added 18 points and Alex Brogdon put in 14 for Southside, which was 11 of 14 from the free-throw line.
Senior forward Trajan Donnerson led the Pirates (12-14) with 16 points while senior guard Brandon Partee put in 13.
Sports on 02/23/2018