You have heard of the proverbial “tough row to hoe” when you or someone has before them an arduous or perhaps difficult task ahead. It doesn’t mean it can’t be done, it’s just that it can’t be done easily.
For awhile Saturday, it looked like the ’Hawks just might pull off their capturing of a regional basketball championship. Had they have done so, they would have gained a first round bye and a favorable quarterfinal matchup. They would have played against the winner of Star City/Stuttgart, teams ranked 21st and 10th respectively and they would have avoided playing against the state’s No. 1 team (Westside) until the state finals if they made it that far.
Having said all that, it still remains that in order to win a state title, you have to eventually beat everyone anyway. So, whether we play a top team earlier or later, we still need to beat them.
Against the Clarksville Panthers, the ’Hawks put up an amazing number free throws (34) and shot a credible percentage in making 24 of them,a rate of 70 percent. However, the frequent trips to the charity stripe stymied the ’Hawks’ efforts to get their offense rolling like they would have liked.
The top four seeds of the tournament are Jonesboro Westside, Pulaski Academy, McGehee and Clarksville.
When the ’Hawks are hitting their 3s and free throws and have their defense pumped up, they can beat anyone in the state in 4A. The boys in black have worked hard enough to be able to say they have earned whatever recognition comes their way. Here’s hoping they can repeat their performance in the district tournament where they had to play four games in six days, winning them all. To make it to the 4A final in Hot Springs next week, the ’Hawks will have to win three games infour days against some really tough opponents.
They could and might just do that.
Cinderella’s slipper fits the Lady Lions
Gravette’s girls basketball team must have met up with some talking mice and fairy godmothers as they have tried on the glass slipper and it fit, as the Lady Lions are in the state tournament.
Gravette finished sixth in the 4A-1 Conference this season, just ahead of Pea Ridge.
After defeating Pea Ridge in the district playoffs, Gravette whipping a Farmington team that was ranked in the top four in the state. They were tied with eventual district champion Shiloh (No. 2 state ranked) in the fourth quarter before finally losing that match in the district semi-finals.
In a first round regional game, Gravette defeated a shocked 4A-4 Champion Waldron team 61-59. They then lost a tough 48-41 battle to the state’s top-ranked team in Prairie Grove but came back in the consolation game to whip the state’s No. 7 team, Gentry, in a 62-41 walkover.
So now Gravette is matched up to play the state’s 15thranked team in Pocahontas this Wednesday with the winner taking on the state’s thirdranked team in Star City.
The 4A-1 Conference is the cream of the 4A girls basketball leagues with all four of their regional qualifiers making it on to the state tournament. The 4A-2 got three teams into the state tournament with the 4A-7 and 4A-8 each having two berths. The 4A-3 had only a single finalist with the 4A-4 getting shut out altogether.
In the 4A-1 district finals played at Pea Ridge, Shiloh handled Prairie Grove fairly easily in an upset victory.
However, in the region finals,the Tigers destroyed Shiloh in a 42-22 shellacking. Gravette, which took a beating earlier in the year from the conference’s super powers, have steadily improved over the past month to where they are now ranked No. 9 in the state. For a team to be ranked No. 9 statewide with a 16-16 record, that is saying something.
The way Gravette has been playing and with the potential of Gentry, Shiloh and Prairie Grove, it might well be an all 4A-1 final four in this year’s state tournament. I have often heard it said that you are as good as who you play with.
Gravette’s experience might well prove that.
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Editor’s note: John McGee is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, coaches elementary track and writes a regular sports column for The Times. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
4A District Champs
Sports, Pages 10 on 03/02/2011