Heath Neal's Lady 'Hawks and Trent Loyd's Blackhawks swept through the field of the 2018 Golden Arrow Basketball Tournament to claim a pair of championships in Lavaca last week.
Both teams attended the same tournament last week in Lavaca with each squad coming back with the first place hardware in tow. The boys crushed Magazine 50-16, blew past defending champion County Line 48-41, then whipped the host team Lavaca 57-52 in the finals. The girls thumped Magazine 76-49 to start the tourney, got past Lamar 63-57 in semifinal action, then beat Providence Academy 47-43 in the finals.
The girls raised their seasons record to 8-2 with the boys improving their seasonal mark to 7-1. Both victory totals are currently the best in the 4A classification.
Game capsules:
First round
Pea Ridge Girls 76, Magazine 49
The first quarter was an offensive explosion for both sides with the 'Hawks racing out to a narrow 24-21 lead after one period. While the Rattlers managed to rip three treys, the 'Hawks did them one better, canning four in the opening frame.
Katelyn Swope ripped three shots from downtown for nine points to spark the offense, with Hollyn Davis close behind nailing three field goals and a pair free throws for eight points. Maria Socha tossed in a trey, field goal and free throw with Blaklelee Winn rounding it out by scoring two from two from the charity stripe.
Pea Ridge put the pedal to the metal on offense in the second quarter, scoring 27 points while holding the Rattlers to just four field goals and four free throws to jump out to a 51-34 lead at the break. Davis was virtually unstoppable in the period, knocking down two treys and five field goals to rack up 16 points. Adams added two field goals, Winn hit three free throws and a goal, Socha was two for two from the line with Josey Goldberg breaking into the scoring column with a free throw.
The game was decided in the third quarter as the 'Hawks went on to outscore Magazine 19-9 to head into the fourth quarter ahead 70-43. Swope hit the cycle, scoring a trey, field goal and free throw for 6 points with Winn also scoring 6 with three field goals. Socha added 5, with Davis and Dayberry scoring 2 each.
The reserves mopped up in the fourth quarter with Ravin Cawthon, Goldberg and Samantha Bott scoring goals as the 'Hawks won by a final of 76-49.
Davis led the way with 26, Winn 13, Socha 13, Swope 12, Adams 7, Goldberg 3, with Dayberry, Bott and Cawthon all having 2.
Semifinal
Pea Ridge Girls 63, Lamar 57
The Lady 'Hawks fell behind by a single point after one period but raced past Lamar in the second quarter of the semifinals to get a healthy lead at the half, then held off their rallies for the remainder of the game.
Winn carried the offense in the opening frame, hitting a pair of goals and a field goal for 5 points. Aidan Dayberry hit a trey and Adams added a 2-pointer to account for the offense.
Winn proved she was just getting started by adding 9 more points to spark the rally past Lamar. Socha added 4, Dayberry 3, and Davis 2 points as Pea Ridge assumed a 10-point lead at the break, 27-17.
The Blackhawk hot offense continued to ring up the points as they scored 19 in the third period to blunt Lamar's attempt to get back into the game. Davis led a balanced attack, hitting two 3s, with Adams and Winn hitting solo field goals and two free throws each for 4 points, Swope added a trey, with Dayberry having the other 2 points via the free throw line. The 'Hawks led 46-33 headed into the final period.
Lamar finally hit their stride in the last quarter, exploding for 26 points to almost double their point total, but the 'Hawks kept clicking, scoring 17 to keep the opposition at bay. Lamar had to foul in the fading minutes but the 'Hawks responded by sinking 11 of them.
Winn hit a pair of goals and a pair of freebies with Swope tossing in five of six free throws to lead the charge. Adams scored 4 and Socha added 2 as Pea Ridge finished up the victory.
Winn led all scorers with 23, with Adams having 10, Davis, Swope, and Dayberry finishing with 8 each and Socha scoring 6.
Finals
Pea Ridge Girls 47, Providence 43
The final was a barn burner as Rogers Providence Academy was as tenacious as the Lady 'Hawks, refusing to fold as the game was not settled into the final moments.
Providence took the early lead, ahead 10-9 at the first buzzer. Swope and Dayberry kept the 'Hawks close with successful shots from behind the arc, with Swope adding a regular goal and Winn a free throw.
The 'Hawks forged ahead in the second period, outscoring their foes 16-11 to take a 4-point lead into the break, 25-21. Adams led the surge with a trey and two field goals for 7 points, with Winn, Dayberry and Cawthon all scoring 3.
The third quarter was a repeat of the first, with Providence melting the lead in large part to the 'Hawks going one for five at the line. An Adams' trey, Davis and Socha field goals, and a free throw by Winn kept the quarter deficit close as they were outscored 10-8 but still led 33-31 at the buzzer.
Providence had their best offense of the night in the final time frame, scoring 12, but the 'Hawks outproduced them 14-12 to take the championship. Pea Ridge scored four field goals in the period, and went to the line 10 times, hitting six to thwart the opposition rally. Winn scored 8 in the last quarter with Adams scoring 4 free throws and Swope the other 4 with two field goals.
Davis and Winn led the scoring with 13 each, with Swope and Dayberry next up with 6 each. Adams had 3, Cawthon 3, and Socha 2 for balance of the offense.
Sports on 12/05/2018