POTTSVILLE — Charles Berry had to be a little concerned that his Huntsville girls might lose a little defensive intensity when the early fouls began to mount Thursday night.
The Lady Eagles’ offense was there to pick up the pace.
Shelbi McCartney scored 15 of her 18 points in the second quarter, and Huntsville rolled past Clinton for a 67-38 first-round victory in the Class 4A North Region tournament at George S. Jones Gymnasium.
“We had a couple of big threes there, and that helped us jump up there,” Berry said. “I thought (Allie Hensley) got tired there in the second quarter, and she’s a heck of a player. We couldn’t guard her.
“The second half, we were playing pretty good. We got the ball inside, then hit a couple of shots outside.”
Clinton (14-13) scored the last seven points to force a 12-12 tie at the end of the first quarter, then took a brief 13-12 lead on Hensley’s free throw with 7 minutes, 36 seconds before halftime. That’s when McCartney began to blister the nets.
The senior guard hit a trio of 3-pointers during a 16-0 Huntsville run, and her third shot from beyond the arc gave the Lady Eagles (24-6) a 28-12 lead with 3:45 before halftime. McCartney then hit another one after Hensley broke the Huntsville run, and the Lady Eagles went on to take a 39-21 cushion at halftime.
“We played really well in the first quarter, but Huntsville is so awfully good,” Clinton coach Ricky Cooper said. “They have big girls, and they have good guards. You just have to pick your poison with them. You just have to hope they miss.”
Huntsville picked up where it left off in with seven straight points and extended its lead to 46-21 on Cierra Creek’s bucket less than 2 minutes into the second half. The Lady Eagles eventually invoked the sportsmanship rule and the running clock when Cheyenne Walkingstick’s bucket made it 65-34 with 3:19 remaining.
Creek added 15 points and Delanie Tipton 10 for Huntsville, which plays No. 1 seed Ozark in a 7 p.m. semifinal game today. Hensley finished with 26 for Clinton. Thursday’s win also assured Huntsville of a berth in next week’s 4A State Tournament in Ozark
Henry Apple can be reached by email at happle@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWAHenry