OZARK --The Harrison Lady Goblins have leaned on their defense to make a big impact all season. That continued Thursday in the first round of the 4A North Regional at the Hillbilly Activity Center.
Harrison got stops early then put the game away with an offensive surge in the second half to secure a spot in the state tournament with a 47-23 victory against Ozark.
The Lady Goblins set the tone early defending the basketball. The Lady Hillbillies missed their initial six shots and had three turnovers before scoring their first points of the game. They went on to make just five of 37 shots (16%) in the game.
"All season defense is what I have preached," Harrison coach Kristian Williams said. "Going into this game, I told my team the more aggressive and confident team on that side would come away with a win. I feel like they bought into that and we did just that."
Harrison was guided by Alex Hill scoring a game-high 16 points. Maggie Salmon chipped in nine points and Clare Barger added eight as well for the Lady Goblins.
Ozark got a team-high six points each from Briley Burns and Kelsee Barnett.
Harrison held just a 7-6 advantage after the first quarter and took a 21-14 edge into halftime with a 3-pointer from Salmon. Ozark was able to keep itself in the game early by making all six of its first-half free-throw attempts.
The Lady Goblins were able to use a strong third quarter to take control of the game. Harrison used a 6-0 run to open the frame, capped with a three-point play from Hill, to make it a 30-14 lead. They pushed that edge out to 37-17 with back-to-back baskets from Barger.
"We woke up after halftime," Williams said. "Playing basketball at 10 a.m. and playing three hours away, you are going to have some bumps. But we came out after halftime and played well. We made some adjustments and they did a good job with those."
Harrison was able to take a 39-18 lead into the fourth quarter. Harrison was aggressive on defense and had back-to-back steals that turned into points during the key third-quarter run.
"We knew Harrison is a great team and we would have to play well to have a chance to beat them," Ozark coach Bret Nagel said. "Our kids played hard, and I'm proud of that. But in that third quarter, we gave some momentum to them. They took advantage of that."
The Lady Goblins had their best offensive quarter of the game in that third quarter. They made six of 10 shots and outscored their opponent 18-4.
"We made some big shots when we needed it in that third quarter," Williams said. "We were a little frustrated we got knocked out in our district tournament and wanted to bounce back. We had a really good week of practice and it showed after halftime."
Harrison put the game well out of reach in the final quarter with a 6-0 run that gave them a 45-21 lead. A free throw and a basket from Shaylee Ward capped the run for the Lady Goblins.
Farmington 56, Pottsville 51
The Lady Cardinals used their defense down the stretch to finally create some separation and secure a berth in the state tournament.
Farmington got a team-high 18 points from Tori Kersey and 13 from Carson Dillard. The duo also scored all 19 of the team's fourth-quarter points to help put the game away.
Pottsville was guided by a game-high 21 points from Lindsey Aday and also 12 from Rilee Underwood.
Underwood got a basket to tie the game at 51-51 with about 2:25 left in the game, but the Lady Apaches weren't able to score again after that. Farmington took full advantage.
Kersey made a free throw with about two minutes left to take back the lead then a layup to make it a 54-51 advantage with about 50 seconds left. Dillard iced the game with a pair of free throws with 31 seconds left.
Pottsville held an 18-15 edge after a quarter of play and a 30-24 advantage heading into halftime. Farmington, the defending Class 4A state champions, rallied in the third quarter to tie it at 37-37 entering the final quarter.
Boys
Dardanelle 66, Huntsville 59
Dardanelle found itself down by five points entering the fourth quarter, but that quickly changed. The Sand Lizards battled back to pull away down the stretch, earning a spot in the state tournament.
Sam Williams led the team with a game-high 22 points, including 13 points in the key final quarter. Marteez Jackson added 18 points while Braden Tanner had 14 for the Sand Lizards.
Huntsville was guided by Hayden Dotson's team-high 19, and Hunter Davidson also had 15 for the Eagles.
Williams early in the fourth quarter converted a three-point play to cut Huntsville's edge to 51-46. He then tied the game at 52-52 with a 3-pointer with about four minutes left. Dardanelle then outscored Huntsville 14-7 after that to secure the win.
Dardanelle led 17-9 after the first quarter and 31-26 at halftime. Huntsville used a strong third quarter, outscoring their opponent 22-12, to take a 48-43 edge into the fourth quarter.
Berryville 55, Ozark 34
Berryville surged out of halftime with a 17-0 run to break open a close game and secure a spot in the state tournament.
The Bobcats got a game-high 17 points from J.D Smith. Jake Wilson and Landon Chester also each chipped in 10 points. Ozark was led by a team-high 15 from Garrett Schaffer. Berryville held just a 21-20 lead at halftime but used an explosive third quarter to take control. During the 17-0 run right after the break, the Bobcats hit three shots behind the arc and forced plenty of stops.
Ozark missed five shots and had five turnovers before it scored in the third quarter.