PEARCY -- Lake Hamilton's senior high girls' basketball team secured the No. 1 seed from the 5A-South Friday night and at least a share of the conference championship.
The Lady Wolves (18-6, 11-2) kept pace atop the conference standings with a 50-31 victory on Friday against Texarkana (9-18, 1-12). They won both of their games this season against Sheridan (22-3, 10-3), which kept pace on Friday with a 46-24 home win against Hot Springs (12-11, 8-5).
Lake Hamilton only led, 9-4, after the first quarter and took a 21-14 lead into halftime. The Lady Wolves were dominant in the second half, pulling away, 29-17.
Sophomore Aspen Thornton was the home team's top scorer again with 21 points. She was 4-for-7 on 3-pointers.
The team's second-leading scorer was freshman Hayleigh Wyrick, who just moved up to the senior high team at the end of the week. The junior Lady Wolves finished with a record of 18-8 after they were eliminated in the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference tournament semifinals by top-seeded Conway Blue, 50-37, in Cabot on Wednesday.
Wyrick was the junior Lady Wolves' second-leading scorer on Wednesday with 11 points, including 6-for-6 shooting at the free throw line. She was 6 of 6 again on Friday to finish with 13 points, five rebounds and two steals against Texarkana.
Senior Nya Moody had seven points and six rebounds. Fellow senior Jenny Peake finished with four points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
A home win against Benton (15-11, 8-5) on Tuesday or a Sheridan road loss at El Dorado (16-9, 7-6) would give Lake Hamilton the outright conference championship.
Lake Hamilton will host the Class 5A state tournament Feb. 26 through March 2 at Wolf Arena. Teams 1-4 from the 5A-South will be matched up directly with teams 1-4 from the 5A-East in the first round.
The 5A-South is the only conference in the classification scheduled to end the regular season on Tuesday. The other three conferences are scheduled to continue through Friday.
Nettleton (23-1, 12-0) has clinched the 5A-East regular season title for a fourth consecutive conference crown. The Lady Raiders are followed in the standings by Jonesboro (17-8, 8-4), Mountain Home (15-10, 7-5), Paragould (17-8, 7-5), Marion (14-12, 6-6) and West Memphis (12-10, 5-7).
Lake Hamilton will meet the No. 4 seed from the 5A-East on Feb. 26 at 4 p.m. in the first round of the state tournament.
Jonesboro was the state champion in the previous Class 6A in 2018. Marion made the 6A semifinals, while Mountain Home and West Memphis were each eliminated in the quarterfinals. The Lady Wolves won, 66-44, on the Lady Blue Devils' home floor.
Boys
Lake Hamilton's senior high boys continued to roll through the 5A-South Friday with a 74-60 home win against Texarkana.
The Wolves (22-2, 13-0) have already clinched the outright conference championship and the league's No. 1 seed at the state tournament in Pearcy. The Razorbacks (6-17, 3-10) are seventh in the eight-team league.
Junior guard Malique Hill gave the Wolves 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists on Friday. Senior forward Kanaan Williams scored 16 points.
Senior point guard Mondo Watkins finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Fellow senior guard Lane Kersey added 10 points and three assists. Senior forward Clyde Hill scored seven points and was on the receiving end of four charges.
Lake Hamilton will finish the regular season on Tuesday at home against Benton (14-10, 7-6), which is currently third in the league and fighting to secure a playoff spot. The Wolves will follow the girls' game on Feb. 26 with a 5:30 p.m. game against the No. 4 seed from the 5A-East.
Marion (19-3, 12-0) has clinched the No. 1 seed from the 5A-East. West Memphis (21-5, 9-3), Jonesboro (18-7, 9-3) and Nettleton (14-7, 8-4) have clinched the other three playoff spots, but the seeding has not been decided with two more games remaining in the regular season. Greene County Tech (16-8, 5-7) is out of contention in fifth place after going 11-1 in non-conference play.
Jonesboro defeated West Memphis in the Class 6A state championship game a year ago at Bank OZK Arena. Marion lost out in the quarterfinals to West Memphis and Nettleton lost out in the first round of the 5A state tournament, 62-52, to eventual state champion Little Rock Parkview.
West Memphis will host Greene County Tech on Tuesday and finish the regular season at Mountain Home (8-16, 3-9). Jonesboro must go to Nettleton on Tuesday before hosting Marion on Friday. Nettleton will finish with a home game on Friday against Searcy (9-16, 2-10).
Sports on 02/17/2019