March 12, 2020
By BILLY SMALLWOOD
Category: Basketball
Video Clips: Quitman at 2A State Championship Game
March 12, 2020
By BILLY SMALLWOOD
‘Katz versus Dogs for 2A title
Quitman, Melbourne to tangle in Hot Springs for championship
March 12, 2020
By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
QUITMAN — Playing for the Class 2A state championship is becoming an almost every year event for the Quitman Lady Bulldogs.
The Lady Bulldogs, who advanced for the third time in the last four seasons, will play defending state champion Melbourne at 6 p.m. Thursday in the state final at the Bank OZK Arena.
Quitman (30-3) defeated Hector in the 2017 final and lost to Earle in 2018. Melbourne (33-2) won last year’s championship with a win against Riverside.
“This will be different from last week as we must wait almost a week to play,” Lady Bulldog coach Tim Hooten said. “Sometimes, it’s anticlimactic, but we have to build back to last week’s level of play.”
Quitman lost to Melbourne 59-43 in November, but Hooten said that game will not affect Thursday’s matchup.
“We are aware of how good Melbourne’s posts are and they are two players deep at all five positions,” Hooten said. “We have quickness and speed, and hope to take advantage of it. We are a different team and not look back at the last time we played Melbourne. Records are meaningless now. It’s a one-game season.”
Melbourne’s Josie Roark
Sophomore Kenlee McCarn is one of the Melbourne players to watch, along with Jenna Lawrence. Kiley Webb runs the show at point guard. Josie Roark and Halle Weaver round out the starters.
“There is a lot of excitement,” Melbourne head coach Eric Teague said when asked about the atmosphere since Saturday’s semifinal win against Des Arc. “Winning the state tournament last year was exciting. It has been a tough year and we got every team’s best shot. We are excited about Thursday’s (today) game against Quitman.”
Melbourne has won 23 consecutive games with the last loss to Classen SAS from Oklahoma City in December. The Lady Bearkatz’ other loss came to Class 6A Bentonville, also in December. Melbourne averages 59 points a game and held opponents to 37 points.
“Defense is the strongest part of our team,” Hooten said. “We will use a full-court press and try and not let them get down the floor easily. We don’t have the size to battle inside. We will rely on our speed and quickness.”
Teague expects a tough game and hopes playing for the second straight year in the state final will benefit the Lady Bearkatz.
“We hope to be more settled than last year,” he said. “Quitman has a great team and is the hottest team right now in Class 2A.”
Quitman, which has won five regional tournament titles, will put a nine-game winning streak on the line. The Lady Bulldogs’ last loss came at home to Mount Vernon-Enola. Quitman lost to Melbourne and Mountain View in November.
Who wins the 2A Girls State Title
- Melbourne (57%, 4 Votes)
- Quitman (43%, 3 Votes)
Total Voters: 7
Loading ...Senior guards Autumn Johnson and Halle Bennett start on the perimeter, with sophomore Taylor Hooten at point guard. Seniors Lucy Holland and Carson Rackley are the posts.
Holland said the team is confident and the earlier loss to Melbourne was forgotten a long time ago.
“You can’t go into a game scare about what happened last time,” she said. “Every game is new. “Our past state tournament experience will help because we know what it is like to win and also know what it is like to lose it. The nerves will still be there, but we don’t want to lose again.”
Rackley also agreed that the Lady Bulldogs will be ready for the matchup against Melbourne.
“I didn’t even score in that game and expect to play better,” she said. “Playing Melbourne once helped in preparation, but the disadvantage for them is we won’t play the same way as last time. We know what we must do to win.”
Quitman’s team average almost mirror Melbourne. The Lady Bulldogs average 60 points and held their opponents to 38 points.
Hooten said one of the keys for Quitman will be how effective it can make outside shots.
“We must have a good outside shooting game,” he said. “They are so big inside, but we are going have to score some on the inside. If we do that, it will help keep the game closer and puts us in position to win.”
Teague agreed that the game will be determined the outcome of Quitman’s speed against Melbourne’s size.
“We must protect the ball and not turn it over against Quitman’s fullcourt press,” he said. “We also must limited Quitman to one shot. We need to slow them down and not let them overwhelm us with their speed.”
Quitman won two championships in other sports last year, and Hooten hopes it carries over to the school’s second basketball title.
“These girls work to win in every sport,” he said. “We won the state cross country championship and the last two softball titles. Winning can become a habit. They know what it takes to win.”
CLASS 2A SENIOR GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE QUITMAN (30-3) VS MELBOURNE (33-2) WHEN: 6 p.m. tonight WHERE: at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs TELEVISION: PBS (Statewide over the air, cable). Pregame 5:57 p.m. Tipoff 6:05 p.m. RADIO: KABZ 103.7 "The Buzz: (Statewide). Listen Live Link MELBOURNE BEARKATZ STATE TITLES (2): 1973, 2019 COACH: Eric Teague PROBABLE STARTERS: Guard Kenley McCarn (5-9, Sophomore), Guard Kiley Webb (5-3, Junior), Guard Josie Roark (5-6, Junior), Guard Halle Weaver (5-6, Junior) Forward Dani Hardaway (5-7, Senior) and/or Post Jenna Lawrence (6-2, Freshman) HOW THEY GOT HERE: Melbourne downed Fordyce (67-27), Bigelow (54-38) and Des Arc (68-54) at 2A state tournament in Quitman to advance to finals BEARKATZ NOTES: Melbourne is the defending 2A state champion and on a 23-game winning streak ... Lost three key players off last season's championship team in seniors Halle Cooper and Shelby Morris, and 2019 state title game most valuable player Reagan Rapert, who transferred to Union, Missouri, for her junior season ... Melbourne defeated Quitman, 59-43, in the semifinals of the Clinton First Service Bank Tournament on November 21. The Bearkatz would defeat 6A Springdale Har-Ber for the title ... Melbourne's only losses this season were at Bentonville (55-31) on December 21 and to Oklahoma City Classen SAS (62-40) on December 28 on a neutral floor ... The Bearkatz are 90-13 over the past three season (87.4 percent) and 39-2 in conference play over that same period ... Melbourne competes in 3A for football and 2A for other sports ... Melbourne also won the state overall title in 1973 (until that tournament was discontinued in 1992) ... Melbourne won both the 2A-3 conference and district titles ... has only two seniors on roster. QUITMAN BULLDOGS STATE TITLES (1): 2017 COACH: Tim Hooten PROBABLE STARTERS: Guard Halle Bennett (5-4, Senior), Guard Autumn Johnson (5-4, Senior), Guard Taylor Hooten (5-3, Sophomore), Post Lucy Holland (5-8, Senior) and Post Carson Rackley (5-8, Senior) HOW THEY GOT HERE: Quitman defeated Hector (84-45), Marmaduke (71-37) and Earle (40-28) to punch ticket to today's title game. BULLDOG NOTES: Quitman is on a nine-game winning streak ... The Bulldogs only losses this season are at Mount Vernon-Enola (57-51) on February 11 to Mountain View (54-24) on November 22 and to Melbourne (59-43) on November 21 ... Quitman has eight seniors on the roster ... Quitman defeated Earle, 49-44, in the semifinals on its way to claiming the 2017 state title while the Bulldogs punched their ticket to the finals this season with a 40-28 win on Saturday, both of those wins came at Quitman ... Over the past five seasons, Quitman has won 88.8 percent of the games it has played. The Bulldogs have a record of 155-20 over that stretch, an average of 31 wins per season. They have also have a record of 61-2 in conference play over that same stretch, and won five district and five regional championships. On the biggest stage, the state tournament, Quitman is 12-3 in the state tournament with a state title in 2017 and a runner-up finish in 2018 ... The track team has also won a state championship in 2017, the cross country team has state titles in three consecutive seasons while the softball team is coming off back-to-back state titles ... Quitman competes in the 2A-5 North conference ... The Bulldogs are 2A members of all sports.
Quitman continues five-year run of dominance
March 11, 2020
By PHILIP SEATON
To say the Quitman girls basketball program is experiencing a run of success would be an understatement.
Over the past five seasons, Quitman has won an eye-popping 88.8 percent of the games it has played. The Bulldogs have a record of 155-20 over that stretch, an average of 31 wins per season.
They have also have a record of 61-2 in conference play over that stretch, and won five district and five regional championships. On the biggest stage, the state tournament, Quitman is 12-3 in the state tournament with a state title in 2017 and a runner-up finish in 2018.
The track team has also won a state championship in 2017, the cross country team has state titles in three consecutive seasons while the softball team is coming off back-to-back state titles.
“Six-years ago Quitman wasn’t even on the map as an athletic school,” Quitman coach Tim Hooten said. “Right now I think we are really making huge strides.
“In cross country, we have won three championships in the past three years. We are going back to the finals and hopefully be in the position to bring home another basketball, but Melbourne will have a lot to say about that.”
Hooten says that the championships build off each other.
“Our girls program is at the top level right now,” Hooten said.
EARLE: Quitman has faced Earle in the state tournament the past four seasons with the teams splitting four games. Last season, Earle ended Quitman’s season last year with a 70-58 setback in the 2A quarterfinals at Carlisle and prevented the Bulldogs from repeating as state champions in 2018 with a 48-43 decision in the finals.
Quitman defeated Earle, 49-44, in the semifinals on its way to claiming the 2017 state title while the Bulldogs punched their ticket to the finals this season with a 40-28 win on Saturday. Both of those wins came at Quitman.
“We knocked them out when we won it,” Hooten said on Saturday. “They got us the last two years. We had a lot to prove here to get back at them. We really wanted to redeem ourselves because we played horrible last year. We didn’t get shots we should have. Our defense was not as good as it was tonight. To hold Earle to 28 points, that’s a defensie accomplishment.”
RUBBER MATCH: Melbourne handed Quitman its first loss of the season back on November 21 with a 59-43 decision at the First Service Bank Classic in Clinton. Quitman would defeat the host in the third-place game while Melbourne would go on to beat 6A Springdale Har-Ber for the tournament title. “I think we are a totally different team now,” Hooten said.
PATH TO THE TITLE GAME: Quitman defeated Hector (84-45), Marmaduke (71-37) and Earle (40-28) in the semifinals while Melbourne downed Fordyce (67-27), Bigelow (54-38) and Des Arc (68-54) to punch its ticket to Hot Springs.
STATE CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS: Fans may purchase tickets for the Class 2A girls’ state basketball tournament until 1 p.m. Thursday at Quitman High School. Quitman will play defending state champion Melbourne at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Hot Springs Convention Center. Cost is $8. Doors will open at 5 p.m.
COMMUNITY PEP RALLY/SEND-OFF: A community pep rally will start at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the old gym. The team will leave for Hot Springs around 3:15, according to the school’s Facebook page They will start at First Baptist Church and make their way through town around 3:15 p.m.
VIDEO: Final seconds and buzzer celebration
Quitman seniors ready to carry team to title
March 9, 2020
By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
QUITMAN – Four Quitman seniors joined teammates on the practice floor at the Bulldog Complex Monday in preparation for Thursday’s Class 2A girls’ basketball tournament championship game.
The Lady Bulldogs (30-3) earned their third appearance during the past four years in the state final.
Quitman, which defeated Earle in the Saturday’s semifinals, will play at 6 p.m. Thursday against defending state champion Melbourne (33-2) at the Hot Springs Convention Center.
The four senior starters — Autumn Johnson, Halle Bennett, Carson Rackley and Lucy Holland — watched the 2017 championship when the Lady Bulldogs defeated Hector. Quitman lost to Earle in the 2018 championship game.
The senior players recalled those games, but they said the focus will be on Melbourne.
“We were on the 2017 team, but this will be a different experience,” Johnson said. “We want to win a title for the team by playing. I’m proud how far the team has come this season. We are focused and ready to play.”
Johnson said doubts remained throughout the season up to the state tournament if Quitman would reach the championship game again. She said one of the team’s goals was to prove that it could.
“We proved that we could get back to the championship game and that was something big to this team,” Johnson said. “We made the 2017 starters work hard in practice. The older players made us work hard, too. The seniors played together since the third grade, and we have amazing team chemistry.”
Holland said the Lady Bulldogs won three tough games last week, but the goal is to win one more game.
“We have three days to get ready,” she said. “We know what we need to do. Some people thought we might not make it, but our coach (Tim Hooten) believed in us and players believed in each other.”
Holland said previous championship experience will help, but Thursday’s game will be different.
“The experience will help us because we know what it is like to win it and know how it feels not to win,” Holland said. “The nerves will still be there, but we know what it will take to win.”
Rackley, like the other three seniors, realizes win or lose Thursday’s game will be the final time to step on the court together.
“Most seniors don’t experience this as their final game,” she said. “I will never forget the regional championship game when we trailed until scoring with 15 seconds left in the game and won. The older players always pushed us when we were younger. It helped to make us better players.”
Bennett also voiced confidence that the team will do well against Melbourne.
“We know what to expect and how to deal with the atmosphere,” she said. “We are excited about Thursday’s game.”
Panther seventh-grade girls finish strong
February 14, 2020
The Heber Springs seventh-grade girls basketball team started slow but showed great improvement over the course of the season.
Heber Springs coach Jay Moore said that this was the first time most of his team had played together.
“Half of my girls said that this was their first year to experience basketball, just playing the game,” he said. “I felt like we started way behind as far as learning to play with each other. We went from the first game where we could hardly inbound the basketball to beating a team that had beaten us earlier in the season.”
That team was Cedar Ridge, whom the Panthers beat on Feb. 6 at the Panther Den, 14-6.
“The only thing they are lacking in my opinion is to just go out there and play as hard as they can and believe in themselves,” Moore said. “The last couple of games of the season the effort really showed.
“We struggled to score in the early part of the season, and the last couple of games, we average in the teens close to 20 points so definitely a lot of improvement.”
BOXSCORES CEDAR RIDGE AT HEBER SPRINGS February 6 CEDAR RIDGE SCORING (9): No. 25 7, No. 3 2 HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (14): Jovie Smithson 5, Kinnison Prince 4, Taylor Parker 4, Baleigh Burchfield 1 CLINTON AT HEBER SPRINGS Clinton 7 12 6 7 - 32 Heber Springs 2 6 5 2 - 15 CLINTON SCORING (32): Gresham 14, Long 8, Collins 6, Shaver 4 HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (15): Baileigh Burchfield 5, Kinnison Prince 4, Taylor Parker 2, Kaitlyn Pierce 2, Faelen Evans 2
Panther 7th-grade boys finish season with 8-1 mark
February 14, 2020
The Heber Springs seventh-grade boys basketball team closed out its season on February 6th with a victory over Cedar Ridge.
The Panthers finished the season with an 8-1 mark with several games canceled due to weather and one game with Quitman because of the flu.
Heber Springs coach Dusty West was pleased with how the season went for the Cubs.
“This group showed promise and a lot potential,” West said. “The class has some good guard play, got some bigs (post players) and gives us something to look forward to toward the future. If that core groups stays together, Heber basketball is about to improve.”
BOXSCORES January 30 HEBER SPRINGS AT SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE Southside Batesville 3 7 4 5 - 19 Heber Springs 9 6 15 7 - 37 SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE SCORING (19): Kiefer 8, Calhoun 5, Force 3, Keeling 2, German 1 HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (37): Liam Buffalo 16, Ty West 5, Jude Herring 4, Weston Warden 3, Braden Biggs 3, Lawson Greenwald 3, Cooper Cantrell 3 January 27 HEBER SPRINGS AT MAYFLOWER Mayflower 8 10 - 18 Heber Springs 6 14 - 20 MAYFLOWER SCORING (18): No. 35 9, No. 20 5, No. 11 2, No. 10 1, No. 21 1 HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (20): Liam Buffalo 7, Ty West 6, Weston Warden 3, Jude Herring 2, Jacob Harrod 2
Quitman advances to 2A state title game
March 7, 2020
By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
QUITMAN – Defense, not a high-scoring offense, opened the door for a return to the Class 2A state championship basketball game for the Quitman Lady Bulldogs.
Earle was held to single digit in three of four quarters as Quitman advanced to the state final for the third time in four seasons with a 40-28 win at the Bulldog Complex Saturday.
Quitman (30-3) will meet Melbourne (33-2) at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Bearkats punched their ticket with a 68-54 win against Des Arc in the other semifinal on Saturday at Quitman.
“It was a defensive game between two good teams,” Quitman coach Tim Hooten said. “Both teams reacted against the physical play. We did a good job of getting into defensive position and drew charges. That slowed down Earle. It is a defensive accomplishment to hold Earle to 28 points.
“We got good play off the bench when we got into foul trouble during the second half. They may have been out of positions at times, but they got the rebounds and took good care of the ball. They played their roles.”
Hooten hinted after Friday’s quarterfinal win against Marmaduke how defense would be a key against Earle. He also said scoring back-to-back field goals in the final seconds of the first half was important.
“The girls did it on their own,” said Hooten when asked about that sequence. “We jumped passes and scored. I told the girls earlier to play a little off Earle’s players because of their speed. Those two field goals gave us a big lift at halftime.”
Taylor Hooten led Quitman in scoring with 11 points while post player Lucy Holland also finished in double figures with 10. Carson Rackley had nine points but her play was limited because of foul trouble during the second half, but Holland shouldered part of the load during Rackley’s absence.
“Our defense pulled us through,” Rackley said. “I was in foul trouble, but my teammates picked it up. I never care about how many points I score, but my only concern is getting the win. I try to be a good cheerleader from the bench when that happens.”
Holland downplayed her role during the second half and credited her teammates for their performance.
“Someone has to step in when that happens,” she said. “We can’t rely on just one player to do it all.”
Rackley and Holland said the team welcomed an opportunity to play in the state tournament at home. They also said part of the motivation was getting redemption from last year’s performance against Earle at the state tournament in Carlisle.
“We came into the tournament confident and knew Earle was there,” Rackley said. “We benefited from playing at home and in front of our fans.”
Holland agreed.
“I knew it would be Earle and us in the semifinals,” she said. “The seniors realized every game could be our last one. Our crowd and community are the best around. Our fans had a great effect on us. It will be great to play our final game on the biggest stage. It will be the greatest feeling in the world.”
Earle took a 2-0 lead early in the first quarter, but Quitman answered by scoring seven consecutive points and led 7-2 going into the second quarter.
The Lady Bulldogs maintained the lead and struck quickly in the final 10 seconds for a momentum lift. Rackley scored on an inside move and then Taylor Hooten intercepted the inbound pass and made a shot at the buzzer for the 20-14 halftime lead.
Tim Hooten said the message to his players during halftime was simple.
“We were missing too many shots and taking too many shots in a panic,” he said. “We needed to relax, so we could shoot better. We did that in the third quarter.”
Quitman controlled the second half. The Lady Bulldogs built a 29-22 lead by the end of the third quarter and never challenged for the remainder of the game.
Hooten said preparation for Melbourne will begin on Monday.
“We lost to them early in the season,” he said. “We are a different team now.”
EARLE VS. QUITMAN Class 2A Semifinals at Quitman March 7, 2020 Earle (30-7) 2 12 8 6 - 28 Quitman (30-3) 7 13 9 11 - 40 EARLE SCORING (28): Colbi Maples 12, Elaijha Brown 8, T’asja Hughey 6, Tiara Rogers 2 QUITMAN SCORING (40): Taylor Hooten 11, Lucy Holland 10, Carson Rackley 7, Halle Bennett 7, Gracie Smith 2, Haley Trawick 2, Autumn Johnson 1
Video: Heber Springs winter sports senior night
February 14, 2020
Video courtesy Melanie Willen
PHOTO GALLERY: https://philip-seaton.pixpa.com/site/2020-heber-springs-winter-sports-senior-night
Pangburn falls to Earle in 2A quarterfinals
March 6, 2020
By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
QUITMAN – Pangburn held the lead during most of the first half, but Earle’s second-half scoring outburst became too much for the Tigers to overcome.
Earle (20-9) trailed 27-24 at halftime and returned with a 21-6 third-quarter scoring run and defeated Pangburn 73-42 in the Class 2A state tournament quarterfinals at the Bulldog Complex.
Luke Rolland scored 17 points for Pangburn, while Cade McKee finished with 10 points. Rholly Davis led Earle with a game-high 19 points. Jermayne Johnson scored 17 points, followed by Donnie Warren with 15 points and Donnie Cheers had 11 points.
McGee made 2-of-2 free throws and Alex Langley hit 1-of-2 free throws as Pangburn led 8-5 midway through the first quarter. Rolland tied the game at 8-8 with a 3-pointer, but the Tigers regained the lead on another 3-pointer by Rolland.
Cheers scored late in the quarter and reduced Pangburn’s lead to 11-10 going into the second quarter.
The score was tied twice early in the second quarter before Pangburn regained the lead on Jadyn Ramsey’s field goal. Earle rallied for a 20-19 lead before back-to-back 3- pointers by Rolland and Brenden Grayum, giving the Tigers a 25-20 lead.
Pangburn maintained the lead and held a 27-24 advantage at halftime.
The tide turned midway through the third quarter with the game tied at 31-31. Earle had a 14-2 scoring run and pulled away to a 45-33 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Earle outscored the Tigers 28-6 during the fourth quarter.
Pangburn finished the season with a record of 24-15.
PANGBURN-EARLE BOXSCORE Class 2A Quarterfinals at QUITMAN Pangburn 11 16 6 9 - 42 Earle 10 14 21 28 - 73 PANGBURN SCORING (42): Luke Rolland 17, Cade McKee 10, Tanner Galyan 8, Brenden Grayum 3, Jadyn Ramsey 3, Alex Langley 1. EARLE SCORING (73): Rholly Davis 19, Jermayne Johnson 17, Donnie Warren 15, Donnie Cheers 11, Nick Mathis 6, Devin Johnson 5.