An older crop of distinguished area graduates were showcased in The Sentinel-Record on Monday for their success in fall sports.
Student-athletes such as Gavin De Los Santos, Austin Warford and Kori Bullard wrapped up standout careers for their respective schools this fall. Other consistent performers, such as Chris Eastburn, Jojo Grant and Madisson Williams still have another year to leave their last mark.
Underclassmen such as Mo Bradford, Jack Butler, Tatum Rice and Kami Ward are establishing themselves with their programs early in their careers, but the trend is far more prevalent in basketball. A number of area graduates are having an immediate impact early on in the college ranks.
Today's article offers a look at how many local student-athletes are faring in college in winter sports. Local players in college are:
JESSIEVILLE
Kellie Lampo
Kellie Lampo, a 2017 graduate of Jessieville High School, has carved out a place for herself on the Harding Lady Bisons (5-7) as a freshman. She is currently second on the team in scoring, even though she is playing the sixth-most minutes per game.
The team's leading scorer, Caroline Hogue, is averaging 12.8 points per game and a team-high of 7.2 rebounds per contest. Hogue is a 2015 graduate of Arkansas Baptist High School and she transferred to Harding from the the University of Nebraska Omaha, where she played in 30 games as a freshman and ranked No. 16 in NCAA Division I with 2.97 blocked shots per game.
Lampo is currently averaging 9.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game. Her 50 percent field goal percentage, 40-for-80, is second behind only sophomore Sydnie Jones, a graduate of Central Arkansas Christian, who is shooting 62.5 percent, 35-for-56.
"Kellie has had a great start to her first year in college," said Tim Kirby, head women's basketball coach for Harding. "She has a toughness that has allowed her to compete immediately.
"She is our second-leading scorer on a team that only lost one player off of last year's Final Four team. Kellie has a great future ahead of her."
Harding finished the 2016-17 season with a record of 31-4, the best season in the school's 34 years of women's basketball. The Lady Bisons won the Great American Conference regular season title and postseason tournament before making the NCAA Division II Final Four. They were ousted by No. 1-ranked Ashland, which defeated Virginia Union 93-77 in the final to cap an undefeated season.
Lampo's best game of the season came against Southwestern Oklahoma State on Dec. 2. She shot 7-for-11 from the field and 8-for-11 from the free throw line to finish with 22 points in 21 minutes. She was second on the team with eight rebounds, behind Hogue's 16, but the Lady Bisons lost 84-73.
The game occurred two days after her previous best output of the season. Lampo was 6-for-10 shooting and 5-for-6 on free throws for 17 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes during a 93-63 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State.
Her only start fell three days after the loss to Southwestern Oklahoma State. She started in place of Hogue in a 65-57 loss to Drury.
Harding will resume play on Jan. 4 on the road at Southern Nazarene and Southern Arkansas on Jan. 6.
Hunter Daley
Hunter Daley, a 2016 graduate of Jessieville, is a member of the men's basketball team at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. The Boll Weevils are 7-2 overall and 2-2 in the GAC.
Daley averaged 5.5 minutes per game and played in 20 games last season as a freshman for a UAM team which finished 23-7. He has not played this season.
UAM will be back at home on Saturday to face the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Lions.
HOT SPRINGS
Exavian Christon
Another true freshman, 2017 Hot Springs World Class High School graduate Exavian Christon, is off and running with the 9-4 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs of Conference USA. He is averaging 14.6 minutes and 4.2 points per game in his first season in Ruston.
Christon led the team in scoring with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting on Dec. 2 in a 106-55 win over Miles College. He earned his first two collegiate starts last week in the New Orleans Shootout.
The Bulldogs topped Alabama State and Fort Wayne to pick up their second trophy of the season. Christon tallied 15 points in a combined 54 minutes in the two games.
Louisiana Tech will next face Western Kentucky on the road at 7 p.m. on Thursday to open up CUSA play before another conference game at Marshall on Saturday. The Marshall matchup will tip at 6 p.m. and will be available online on ESPN3.
Trey Lenox
Trey Lenox, a 2016 graduate of Hot Springs, is averaging 7.8 minutes per game as a true sophomore for the 8-5 Abilene Christian Wildcats of the Southland Conference. He played in 26 games a year ago as a true freshman, averaging 7.7 minutes per game.
Abilene Christian will open conference play Thursday on the road at New Orleans. The Wildcats will be at home on Saturday to face Sam Houston State.
Paris Harris
Paris Harris, a 6-6 true freshman out of Hot Springs, has started all nine games of his first season for Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Miss. The Indians are 5-4 overall and 0-1 in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges North Division with a 68-61 loss to Holmes Community College.
Harris recorded his first collegiate double-double on Nov. 30 with 13 points and 10 rebounds in an 84-82 road win over Arkansas State University Mid-South in West Memphis. He is now averaging seven points and 6.7 rebounds in 26.2 minutes per game.
The Indians last played on Dec. 9, when they lost at home to Southern University-Shreveport 109-104 in double overtime. They are next scheduled for a home rematch with ASU Mid-south on Jan. 11.
Trayvun Gordon
Another true freshman from Hot Springs, Trayvun Gordon, has played in eight of 12 games so far this season for Independence Community College in Independence, Kan. The Pirates are 7-5 overall and 4-5 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference.
Gordon is shooting 10-for-27, 37 percent, for the season. He played one season for the Trojans after transferring from Little Rock Hall.
The Pirates wrapped up play in the first semester on Dec. 9 with a 90-73 home win over Allen County Community College. They will resume play on Jan. 3 at Seward County Community College.
Quindell Smith
Quindell Smith is listed as a redshirt on the 2017-18 roster for North Arkansas College in Harrison. The Pioneers started the season 11-1 before losing their last two games of the fall semester on Dec. 8-9 in the Grizzly Classic in West Plains, Mo.
NorthArk is next scheduled to host Champion Christian College, of Hot Springs, on Jan. 5.
Ashley Clayborn
A 2015 Hot Springs graduate, Ashley Clayborn, returned to her home state this season after playing two years at Tyler Junior College in Texas to play for Arkansas State. She has played in six games so far this season as a junior.
Clayborn averaged 13 points, five rebounds and two assists as a freshman for Tyler when her team advanced to the semifinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association Region XIV tournament. She helped lead Tyler to a two-year record of 48-15 team and the Region XIV quarterfinals as a sophomore. She is now averaging 2.5 points per game.
The Lady Red Wolves started their holiday break on Friday following a 68-58 road loss to Tulsa. They will be back at home this Friday to open their Sun Belt Conference schedule against Louisiana-Monroe.
Keke Hunter
Keke Hunter, a 2017 Hot Springs graduate, followed in Clayborn's footsteps at Tyler. The Lady Apaches are 8-4 on the season after a 72-42 home win over East Texas Baptist University on Dec. 11.
Tyler is scheduled to start the spring semester with two games in the Bossier Classic in Louisiana on Jan. 2-3. The Lady Apaches are scheduled to face Hinds Community College on the first day and New Mexico Junior College on the second.
Tiaunna Watkins
Hot Springs alum Tiaunna Watkins, now a junior at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, is redshirting this season after transferring from John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill.
The Lady Muleriders are 0-9 and 0-4 in GAC play. They will be back at home on Saturday to face Crowley's Ridge College.
Berniezha Tidwell
Berniezha Tidwell, a 2015 graduate of Hot Springs, signed with Sam Houston State in high school, but is now a sophomore at Highland Community College in Highland, Kan., and is helping her team to an undefeated season. The Scotties closed the first half of the season with a 16-0 record following a 105-39 win over the Missouri Southern State University junior varsity team on Dec. 16.
Tidwell is the team's second-leading scorer behind Mariane De Caravalho, a 6-2 sophomore from Brazil. Tidwell is shooting 56.4 percent from the field, 88-for-156, despite shooting 28 percent, 9-for-32, from 3-point.
The Scotties are scheduled to open the spring semester with Native Dream from Omaha, Neb., on Jan. 6. Tidwell filled the stat sheet with 23 points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocked shots in Highland's 101-50 win over Native Dream in November.
LAKE HAMILTON
Kori Bullard
Ouachita Baptist University senior Kori Bullard, of Lake Hamilton, returned to the women's basketball team in November after closing out her volleyball career. Bullard led the Lady Tigers in rebounds in two of her first three years in Arkadelphia and she picked up where she left off this semester.
OBU was 1-3 in four road games before Bullard joined the team for practice the week of Thanksgiving. The Lady Tigers are 5-0 in five home games since her return.
Bullard has averaged 7.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. She led the team in rebounding as a sophomore with 7.3 per game and 5.5 as a junior. Her average of 5.3 as a freshman was second to Katie Kapler's 7.2.
The College Sports Information Directors of America named Bullard a first team Division II Academic All-American in volleyball this month as she has maintained a 4.0 grade point average as a Biology/Pre-Med major at Ouachita. She has received the GAC's Crafton Tull Elite Scholar Athlete award each of the past two years.
The Lady Tigers have another home game scheduled for Saturday against the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith at 1 p.m. in Bill Vining Arena.
Larenz Nero
Larenz Nero, a 2017 graduate of Lake Hamilton, has played in 14 of 16 games this season as a true freshman for Labette Community College in Parsons, Kan., and has started three games. Nero scored a combined 20 points in the Cardinals' last two games of the fall semester, both wins.
Labette is 10-6 so far this season and competes in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Division II. Lake Hamilton started 14-3 in Nero's senior season, but the Wolves were just 4-8 after his season-ending knee injury.
The Cardinals are scheduled to open the spring semester on Jan. 8 against Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa
LAKESIDE
Lexi Tejcek
Lexi Tejcek, a 2017 graduate of Lakeside High School, has played in two games this season as a true freshman for the Henderson State University Reddies in Arkadelphia. The Reddies are currently 6-4 overall and 2-2 in the GAC.
They are next scheduled to play a pair of road games in Oklahoma to start the new year. Henderson will travel to Ada, Okla., on Jan. 4 to face East Central and Durant, Okla., on Jan. 6 to face Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
Eberle Yarborough
Hendrix College junior Eberle Yarborough, of Lakeside, is a member of the school's swimming team. She swims in backstroke and breaststroke competitions after swimming for Lakeside in high school and the Hot Springs Family YMCA Seals program.
Yarborough made the Southern Athletic Association Academic Honor Roll in both of her first two years at Hendrix. She placed 16th in the 200-yard backstroke in the SAA Championships as a freshman and 19th in the 100-yard backstroke SAA Championships as a sophomore.
MOUNTAIN PINE
Jordan Godwin
Jordan Godwin, a graduate of Mountain Pine High School, has played in at least six of Williams Baptist College's 11 games this season, according to the school's athletics website. She played in 29 games with four starts as a freshman in Walnut Ridge.
Godwin averaged 2.9 points per game and 1.7 rebounds in her freshman season. She was named Academic All-American Midwest Conference.
The Lady Eagles went 4-3 in November before losing all four games so far this month. Their conference record currently sits at 1-5. They are next scheduled to play on Saturday on the road at Lyon College, currently ranked No. 14 in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
Hailee Crosby
Another college sophomore, Mountain Pine alum Hailee Crosby, is on the women's basketball team roster at Ouachita Baptist. She played in 18 games as a freshman and started in three, averaging nine minutes per game for the season.
Crosby has not played this season.
The Lady Tigers are 6-3 overall after a 69-54 home win over Rogers State on Dec. 15 at Bill Vining Arena. OBU will host a sixth straight home game Saturday at 1 p.m. against the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.
CUTTER MORNING STAR
Chris Babb
Chris Babb, a 2017 graduate of Cutter Morning Star High School, is on the men's basketball roster at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul in Minnesota. He is redshirting this season as a freshman.
The Northwestern Eagles are currently 2-7.
MAGNET COVE
Eli Fisher
Hendrix College sophomore Eli Fisher, a graduate of Magnet Cove High School, has played in five games this season after playing in two a year ago. He made the SAA Honor Roll in his freshman year.
The Warriors are currently 1-8, but are scheduled to have five straight home games in the next nine days, beginning with the University of Texas at Tyler Patriots on Friday.
MALVERN
Alivia Huell
Ouachita Baptist University junior Alivia Huell, of Malvern, is averaging 5.8 points in 18.6 minutes per game for the 6-3 Lady Tigers. Huell signed with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock after leading Malvern to consecutive Class 4A state championships in high school. She scored 14 points in the 2014 Class 4A final against Central Arkansas Christian and was named the 4A Most Valuable Player.
Huell did not play in her first season with Little Rock and played in two games the following year. She transferred to OBU and played in 28 games a year ago, starting in 19.
Her 23.4 minutes per game was sixth on the team. She also scored 9.6 points per game, third-most for the Lady Tigers.
OBU will resume its home stand on Saturday at 1 p.m. against the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith at Bill Vining Arena.
Tiffany Murdock
Another member of Malvern's state championship team, Tiffany Murdock, has played in nine of 10 games this season as a senior for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. She played her first two years at Paris Junior College in Texas, including 31 games her sophomore year.
Murdock played in 19 of 30 UAPB games last season, earning a spot in the starting lineup for eight of the last nine games. She is averaging 1.7 points in 11.3 minutes per game.
UAPB is currently 2-8 after losing to Towson and Oakland in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic last week. The team will start Southwestern Athletic Conference play on Sunday at Mississippi Valley State.
Akasha Westbrook
A third member of Malvern's state championship team, Akasha Westbrook, is now the leading scorer for Arkansas State women's basketball team. She is the only Lady Red Wolves player to start in all 11 games so far this season.
Westbrook played in 11 games for Arkansas State as a true freshman and 24 games as a sophomore. She started in the first eight games of the 2016-17 season and was averaging 10.1 points per game before suffering a season-ending foot injury.
Her numbers have increased as a redshirt junior. Westbrook now leads the team with 12.7 points in 29.6 minutes per game, shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 78.4 percent on free throws. Her 4.5 rebounds per game is second on the team.
Arkansas State is currently 5-6 and set to start Sun Belt Conference play on Friday against Louisiana-Monroe.
Raven Northcross-Baker
The leading scorer for Malvern in the 2014 state championship game, Raven Northcross-Baker, is the leading reserve player for the 8-4 Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball team. She scored a career high 22 points, including 6-for-8 on 3-pointers, on Dec. 17 to lead Arkansas past University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks 91-57 at Bud Walton Arena. She was the first player to commit to Arkansas for first-year coach Mike Neighbors.
Northcross-Baker averaged 27 points as a senior at Malvern and played at Chipola College in Marianna, Fla. She helped Chipola reach the Florida College System Activities Association and NJCAA quarterfinals with a 28-5 record. She is currently fourth on the team in scoring, 6.6, and fifth in minutes, 19.8. Neighbors said he hoped to continue to bring her off the bench.
"We saw it in the preseason exhibition game (17 points in an 82-74 Nov. 2 victory over Northeastern State), and we've seen it in practice more times than not, but she is streaky," Neighbors said after the 22-point display against UT-Arlington. "But if she can get one or two to go, and she starts feeling good and she has that follow through a little extra longer, then you start running plays for her and teammates start looking to find her."
"It's a very valuable and commendable role to play, and she's accepted it," Neighbors added. "I would love to be able to keep her coming off the bench."
Arkansas will be at home on Thursday at 7 p.m. to face Grambling with the Southeastern Conference slate scheduled to begin on Sunday at 2 p.m. with Ole Miss. Both games are scheduled to be broadcast live on SEC+.
Andre Jones
While still the Little Rock Trojans' leading scorer, Malvern alum Andre Jones has found himself in a slump in recent games. Jones was averaging more than 13 points per game after 25 points in a losing effort to Oral Roberts and 13 points in a loss to Central Arkansas in Conway.
Coach Wes Flanigan held Jones out for an undisclosed reason the following game as Little Rock lost 86-46 on the road at Bradley. Jones has since shot 8-for-27 from the field and 0-for-9 from 3-point to score 10 points, four and two, respectively, in 62 total minutes in a 57-55 road loss at Sam Houston State, a 94-49 home win over the University of the Ozarks and a 64-48 road loss Wednesday at Mississippi State. The Trojans' second-leading scorer, Little Rock Hall alum Anthony Black, is averaging eight points per game.
Jones led Little Rock McClellan to a 24-6 record and the Class 5A state championship in 2015. He moved to Malvern the following school year and led the Leopards to the Class 4A state championship final.
Little Rock began the season 0-5 and are currently 3-10 overall. The Trojans are scheduled to begin Sun Belt Conference play Friday against Louisiana.
Sports on 12/26/2017