Berniezha Tidwell's slow first quarter belied what was to come.
Tidwell began the second quarter on a 10-0 run, fueled by steals on four straight possessions, leaving Lakeside reeling. Hot Springs rolled to a 50-21 road victory, securing its second-straight 5A-South championship with one game left in the regular season.
"Her leadership has gotten so much better," Hot Springs coach Mark Upshaw said after his team's 27th consecutive league victory. "She's just turned into a terrific ballplayer. She's always had the skills and the ability, and now she steps up when it needs to happen. She's just done a terrific job."
Tidwell helped Hot Springs (21-4, 13-0) stretch an early lead to 22-5.
"They were better than we were, and we added to it with the turnovers," Lakeside coach Chris Brock said. "The main thing we talk about against them is not throwing the ball to them that leads directly to their baskets. There in the second quarter, I felt like every pass we made, (Tidwell) just took it and went to the rack. We have to make them play five-on-five, and we didn't do a good job with that."
Hot Springs led 30-13 at halftime, making nine of 16 floor shots in the second quarter and 51-percent (15 of 29) for the half.
"The kids played hard, and defensively, we just keep getting better and better," Upshaw said. "We did a good job of getting out to their shooters for the most part. They hit a couple of threes, but the girls just wanted it."
Lakeside (18-7, 10-3) made only five baskets in 35 attempts, two of 17 in the second half.
"We shot poorly because they played really well on defense," Brock said. "They outplayed us everywhere. Every pass was contested. We rushed shots because of how they were playing defense."
Tidwell finished with a game-high 16 points, Kiki Hunter adding 11 and Tiaunna Watkins and Ashley Clayborn adding nine for Hot Springs, which goes to Hope tonight.
Karli Herron paced the Lady Rams with eight points. The Lady Rams hope to clinch the league's No. 2 seed in the state tournament tonight at Camden Fairview.
Hot Springs;12 18 14 6 -- 50
Lakeside;5 8 3 5 -- 21
Hot Springs: Tidwell 16, Hunter 11, Watkins 9, Clayborn 9, Guinn 3, Burkes 2.
Lakeside: Herron 8, Rice 5, Perrigo 4, Tejcek 4.
Sports on 02/27/2015