TEXARKANA -- Lakeside's senior high girls' basketball team prevailed in a must-win scenario on Tuesday in a road 5A-South matchup at Texarkana.
The Lady Rams (19-6, 6-6) took control of the game early. They had a 22-4 over Texarkana (9-17, 1-11) after the opening eight minutes.
"I was happy we jumped on them early and never let them back in it," said Lakeside head girls' basketball coach Chris Brock.
"We need to continue playing each possession as hard as we possibly can. We're playing well and our competitive level has been good, but it needs to be great the next two games."
Lakeside went into halftime with a 35-14 lead. The Lady Rams were ahead, 50-24, after the third quarter.
Senior Ashton Patrick led the way for Lakeside with 15 points and four steals. Junior point guard Chloe Porter scored 14 points and made five assists.
Sophomore forward scored nine points and led the team in rebounds with six. Senior forward Belle Neilson and Miller Dickerson each had six points and five rebounds. Sophomore forward Maddie Trusty had three points and seven rebounds after fighting foul trouble early in the game.
The victory keeps Lakeside within striking distance of a playoff spot for the Class 5A state tournament. The Lady Rams are in sixth place in the 5A-South with two games remaining in the regular season. Only four teams from each 5A conference will qualify for the state tournament.
Conference leader Lake Hamilton (17-6, 10-2) is the only team in the league to secure a playoff spot. Sheridan (21-3, 9-3) is second in the conference standings and Hot Springs (12-10, 8-4) is third.
Two teams are tied at 7-5 ahead of Lakeside and they will meet each other on Friday. Benton (14-11, 7-5) will be the home team Friday against El Dorado (16-8, 7-5). Benton will end the season on Tuesday at Lake Hamilton and El Dorado will close the regular season at home against Sheridan.
The penultimate game of the regular season for Lakeside will be a home game on Friday for senior night against J.A. Fair (1-21, 0-12). The Lady Rams will need another win on Tuesday and help from tiebreakers to earn a spot in the postseason.
Lakeside will end the regular season on Tuesday against Hot Springs at Trojan Fieldhouse.
The No. 4 team from the 5A-South will be matched up in the first round of the state tournament against the four-time defending champion of the 5A-East conference, Nettleton (22-1, 11-0). The Lady Raiders were voted No. 3 overall and No. 1 in 5A in the most recent Arkansas Sports Media Girls' High School Basketball Poll.
Sports on 02/15/2019