PEARCY -- Destiny Salary was right on the money in the second half of Jonesboro's come-from-behind victory over the Vilonia Lady Eagles.
Salary finished with 25 points and eight rebounds as the Lady Hurricane posted a 64-54 victory in the Class 5A girls state tournament quarterfinals at Wolf Arena.
Jonesboro (21-8) will play Mountain Home at 6 tonight in the semifinals.
The Lady Hurricane trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half and 32-20 at the half, but Jonesboro made a quick turnaround when the third quarter started.
Salary, who was limited to seven points and one rebound in the first half, hit a three-pointer to open the second-half scoring. The 6-0 junior forward finished with 10 points in the third quarter. She was 8 of 8 from the free-throw line and had two steals and an assist in the fourth quarter.
"When you go into halftime with a little bit of an upward swing and then come out and hit the three to start the third quarter, it's like it just gives you that little bit of extra energy," Jonesboro Coach Jodi Christenberry said. "If she had not hit that three, it might have been a totally different outcome."
Vilonia (25-3) still held a 45-39 lead entering the fourth quarter, but the Lady Eagles wilted against Jonesboro's press. Vilonia was guilty of eight of its 15 turnovers in the final eight minutes. The Lady Eagles also managed only five fourth-quarter field-goal attempts.
"Defense is the only thing that saved us," Christenberry said. "When you're playing one-on-one pressure defense, it's amazingly difficult. They took it upon themselves to step up there and get it."
Jonesboro took its first lead with 3:53 remaining. The Lady Hurricane took the lead for good 80 seconds later.
Jonesboro was 5 of 16 from the floor, 13 of 16 from the line and outrebounded Vilonia 12-5 in the fourth quarter.
Freshman Ereauna Hardway scored nine of her 14 points in the second half. She also grabbed nine rebounds. Senior Sonni Martin finished with 10 points, senior Kayla Mitchell scored eight.
Sophomore Lauren Patterson led Vilonia with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Sophomore McKenzie Floyd also had 11 points.
GREENWOOD 68,
PARAGOULD 60
Sophomore Kinley Fisher scored 28 points -- including a 16 of 16 effort from the free-throw line -- as the Lady Bulldogs (20-8) advanced to the semifinals with a victory over the Lady Rams (20-9).
Paragould was within 62-60 after Alex Brengard hit a three-pointer, but Fisher closed out the game by hitting four free throws in the final minute. She also had a steal and an assist in the final minute.
Senior Kylah Julian added 15 points and Ally Sockey scored 10. Greenwood was 26 of 32 from the line.
Paragould had four players score 10 or more points. Senior Kalyssa Hollis led the Lady Rams with 16 points while grabbing six rebounds. Brengard hit 3 three-pointers and finished with 15 points and 4 assists. Junior Taylor Beasley finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Senior Zoey Beasley scored 11 points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
MOUNTAIN HOME 62,
RUSSELLVILLE 57
Sophomore Kate Gilbert scored 12 of her 18 points in the third quarter, and the Lady Bombers (19-10) held off the Lady Cyclones (17-11) in a quarterfinal game.
Mountain Home outscored Russellville 21-13 in the third quarter to open up a 16-point advantage, but the Lady Cyclones scored the first 13 points of the fourth quarter to close to within 50-49 with 5:33 left.
The Lady Bombers, however, never lost the lead.
Senior Payton Huskey finished with 16 points, going 4 for 4 from the line in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Addison Yates added 14.
For Russellville, junior Cara Davis scored 7 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter. Senior Makayla Ealy scored 12 points, and senior Anna Myers added 11.
Sports on 03/02/2019