Lady Eagles remain perfect in conference play

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West Side Greers Ferry’s Shawna Carlton goes up for the basketball during Friday night action against Izard County Consolidated. MICHELLE McCARTY PHOTO/Michelle’s Photos
By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
GREERS FERRY — The West Side Lady Eagles, playing without one starter, overcame a slow start before seizing control in a 52-15 win against Izard County Consolidated at Brady-Hipp Arena on Friday.
West Side (2-0 in 2-1A Conference, 4-3 overall) won its second conference game and hope to maintain the momentum. Shawna Carlton scored 13 points for the Lady Eagles, while Alyssa Smith had 10 points. Katie Orf led the Lady Cougars with six points.
“It was homecoming and they came out fired up and ready to play,” West Side coach Megan Berry said. “We were nervous in the beginning with Ashtyn Knapp (ankle injury) out because of an injury. Once we got going, the girls played well.”
Smith made two free throws and a three-point play by Carlton gave the Lady Eagles a 5-3 lead early during the first quarter. Orf made a 3-pointer for Izard County before West Side went on a 12-2 scoring run and took a 17-5 lead going into the second quarter.
The Lady Eagles held Izard County scoreless for the remainder of the first half. West Side scored 19 points and led 36-5 at halftime.
A 12-5 third-quarter run helped the Lady Eagles to a 48-10 lead going into the final eight minutes.
West Side is playing at the Clinton tournament this week.
Izard County 5 0 5 5–15
West Side 17 19 12 4–52
Izard County Consolidated scorers: Katie Orf 6, Ava Lewis 4, Paislee Hightower 3, Tess Savell 2.
West Side scorers: Shawna Carlton 13, Alyssa Smith 10, Kortnee Finch 6, McKenna Bittle 6, Sarah Carlton 5, Sam Carder 5, Sidney Seveins 4, Katie Davis 3.

Lady Eagles move one step closer to title game

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

GREERS FERRY – Tightening up the perimeter defense during the second half helped the West Side Lady Eagles to a 58-44 win against Morrilton Sacred Heart in the Class 1A state tournament quarterfinals at the Brady-Hipp Arena Saturday.

The Lady Eagles (25-8) will advance for the second straight season to the state tournament semifinals, this time against Norfork at 4 p.m. Monday. West Side lost in last year’s semifinals to Viola.

“We knew they were a good team with players who could shoot well,” Lady Eagle coach Megan Berry said. “We changed to a man defense during the second half and did a better job of defending and took charges when we had an opportunity.”

Free-throw shooting accuracy also aided the Lady Eagles, who made 23-of-27 attempts. Ashtyn Knapp made 12-of-15 free throws, while Kamryn Sutterfield connected on 5-of-6 attempts. Haley Gentry hit 6-of-6 free throws.

“We missed a couple, but we shot a good percentage,” Berry said. “Our free-throw shooting was good and important.”

Knapp led the Lady Eagles with 18 points. Sutterfield contributed 16 points and Gentry scored 15 points. Rylee Oliver had 12 points for Sacred Heart and Myisa Ibarra chipped in 11 points.

“We ran our offense better during the fourth quarter,” Berry said. “We put together a scoring run and gained momentum. We turned the ball over a few times late in the game against the full-court press, but we came back and got stops on defense.”

The lead changed six times during the first quarter, ending with Sutterfield’s 3-pointer, as West Side led 12-11 going into the second quarter. The Lady Eagles increased the lead to seven points before Sacred Heart reduced it to 28-22 by halftime.

Sacred Heart struck quickly by scoring two field goals at the start of the third quarter. Gentry answered with a 3-pointer and the Lady Eagles withstood the challenge. West Side led 35-27 going into the fourth quarter.

The Lady Eagles built a 14-point lead, but Sacred Heart showed no quit and pulled within 10 points. West Side never lost its double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.

Berry said the experience from playing in last year’s semifinal will benefit her team on Monday against Norfork.

“Most of the players have been in this position before,” she said. “Lack of experience will not be the problem. We need to come out and play well.”

Sacred Heart 11 11 15 7 –44
West Side 12 16 17 13–58
Sacred Heart scorers — Rylee Oliver 12, Myisa Ibarra 11,  Halen Hoelzeman 6, Lizzy Beck 6, Emma Dold 5, Karlee Cooper 2, Anna Jones 2.
West Side scorers — Ashtyn Knapp 18, Kamryn Sutterfield 16, Haley Gentry 15, Sarah Carlton 6, Kortnee Finch 3.

West Side girls advance at 1A state tournament

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

GREERS FERRY -Dermott briefly led Tuesday’s Class 1A state tournament first round game, but it didn’t take long for the West Side Lady Eagles to get rolling.

The Lady Eagles trailed 1-0 before scoring 14 unanswered points and advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinals with a 60-31 win at Brady-Hipp Arena.

Kamryn Sutterfield scored eight of her game-high 17 points during the first quarter. Sarah Carlton made two 3-pointers, while Kortner Finch and Haley Gentry also made a 3-pointer.

The Lady Eagles built a 23-9 lead by the end of the first quarter and increased it to 36-14 by halftime. West Side led 55-23 going into the fourth quarter.

Gentry finished with 13 points and Shawna Carlton came off the bench and scored 11 points for the Lady Eagles. Elizabeth Rowe led Dermott with 10 points.

“We started the game by playing with a lot of energy,” West Side coach Megan Berry said. “Dermott kept changing defenses, but we did a good job of adjusting, moving the ball and finding the open man. We made the shots and got off to a good start. We got the momentum and never let up.”

Berry complemented her team for preparing well for the game.

“We watched game film on Dermott and talked with other coaches,” she said. “Dermott played exactly how we thought it would. Our posts came off the bench and had good games. Sutterfield, Gentry and Ashtyn Knapp did good jobs of getting the ball inside.”

Despite being the first state tournament game, Berry said the players seemed ready to go.

“We played relaxed, but not sure if it was because we were playing at home,” she said. “It seems lately we have been playing well at the right time. I’m hoping that will continue.”

West Side (24-8) will play the Western Grove-Morrilton Sacred Heart, which are scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. Thursday, at 4 p.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Dermott 9 5 9 8–31
West Side 23 13 19 5–60
Dermott scorers — Elizabeth Rowe 10, E. Mari Wade 8, Kaliyah Griffen 6, Rochelle Piliota 3, Za’Kak Tyler 2, Radeja Ford 2.
West Side scorers — Kamryn Sutterfield 17, Haley Gentry 13, Shawna Carlton 11, Sarah Carlton 6, Kortner Finch 6, Alyssa Smith 5, Ashtyn Knapp 2.