PEARCY -- The Lady Knights of Class 3A Centerpoint had to withstand a late shooting barrage from Little Rock Hall on Thursday but were able to secure the win at the free throw line to open the 2017 Kameron Hale Invitational.
Centerpoint (6-4) advanced to play Hot Springs' girls (10-3) today in Lake Hamilton Wolf Arena at 4 p.m. in the winner's bracket. Hot Springs defeated Pea Ridge 56-31 on Thursday.
Sophomore point guard Kaylee Dougan set the tone for the game with a steal and a layup to open the scoring for Centerpoint in the first half. The Lady Knights never relinquished control of the game but did endure some nervy moments in the game's waning minutes.
Hall (3-5) was just 3-for-13 from distance entering the fourth quarter and 3-for-15 after missing two treys early in the final frame. Centerpoint head coach John Bright said he scouted Hall on film and planned to let the Lady Warriors try their luck from 3-point range.
"I saw that they could hit some threes, but coming out of the break, hopefully they would not be as well-shooting or focused there on that aspect," Bright said. "We were going to give a little bit. They hit some. They hit some big ones there, but we were going to let them shoot the long ones and see what we could do from there."
Hall trailed by as many as a dozen points at multiple times in the game's middle quarters. Centerpoint made a number of shots in a balanced attack through the first three quarters, but the offense ran cold in the fourth as Hall chipped away at the lead.
"We shot really well in our last game too," Bright said. "We got some good looks (in the fourth quarter), but they didn't fall. Then we had some forced shots too -- some threes we didn't need to shoot."
Senior forward Cortney Samuel added two of her nine points in the game to give Centerpoint a 45-35 margin. Hall senior forward Alaysia Kelly led all scorers with 23 points in the game, but Dougan poked the ball away on a fast break to prevent her from cutting into the 10-point lead. Then, the shots began to fall for the Lady Warriors.
Sophomore Kendra Pride and junior Allexias Adams each scored two to cut it to 45-39. Kelly grabbed a rebound and scored on a putback to cut the margin to four points with less than two minutes to play.
Kelly was called for a foul on the other end, and Centerpoint junior guard Jaide Vavra sank both free throws. Vavra led the Lady Knights with 20 points in the game.
Adams answered with a 3-pointer to make the score 47-44. A free throw from Dougan made the score 48-47.
A trey by Hall senior Erin Carbin made the score 48-47 for the closest margin since Centerpoint broke a 5-5 tie in the first quarter with an 11-0 run. Vavra was fouled with eight seconds left on the clock and made both foul shots.
"That was huge," Bright said. "Having them to have to force to shoot a three was big because they had the ability to just take it right to the basket strong. They were bigger and longer than we were. It would have been easy for them to take a two-point basket on us with their ability."
Two 3-point attempts by Carbin and Hall senior guard Amber Brooks were left wanting as the seconds ticked away. The Lady Warriors finished just 5-for-20 on 3-pointers.
Kelly scored the first three points for Hall on an outside shot, but she was most successful inside. She was a consistent scoring threat throughout the game for Hall as the rest of her points came from two-pointers and free throws.
A drive to the hoop and a 3-pointer, both by Vavra, sparked Centerpoint's 11-point run in the first quarter for a 16-5 edge. The Lady Knights continued their success from the field in the second quarter to take a 31-19 lead into halftime.
Centerpoint's hot shooting may not have been expected as the team took to the court to warm up about 30 minutes after Hall. The game was the first in the tournament with a tip-off time of 10 a.m.
"We took a long time getting out here and I did not think we were ready, but I think the big thing was we made shots," Bright said. "That was the big difference right there."
Sports on 12/29/2017