DE QUEEN -- Hot Springs freshman Jaylia Reed outscored Lakeside on her own Thursday as the Lady Trojans held Lakeside to just 16 points in the 5A-South junior high girls' district tournament final.
"This, of course, is a game that we have talked about and prepared for all season," said Hot Springs head coach Keysha Hill. "Lakeside is a very competitive team and on any given night can hurt you from outside the arc.
"So we were sure to harp on defense and getting stops and converting those stops to easy transition points. And that was exactly what we were able to do."
Reed finished with 19 points, leading Hot Springs (21-5) to a 31-16 victory. Tamia Dolls added six points. Freshmen Jurnee Hicks and India Hudson added four and two points, respectively.
Hot Springs finished the regular season undefeated in conference play and received a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed in the district tournament.
The junior Lady Trojans steamed by Camden Fairview, 45-18, in the semifinals on Monday. The score was tied 8-8 in the first quarter, but Hot Springs went on runs of 14-6 in the second quarter and 14-4 in the third quarter before holding Fairview scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Reed led all scorers with 18 points. Hicks scored nine points and Hudson added six.
Hot Springs barely held off Lakeside (16-8) on Feb. 5. The junior Lady Rams led 17-16 in their final regular season matchup, but Hot Springs surged ahead in the third and held off Lakeside 38-36.
Freshmen on the championship Hot Springs team included Ashanti Brown, Darnesa Hudson and Nadiya Valrie
"I am extremely proud of these young ladies and what they were able to accomplish as a team," Hill said. "We have an awesome bunch of ninth-graders that will truly be missed and played a major role in our success."
Sports on 02/17/2018