HOT SPRINGS -- Pressure may have gotten to Melbourne are various moments throughout the season, but with a shot at etching their name in the state record books, the state's No. 1-ranked team wasn't about to crack Friday.
The Lady Katz kept Salem at arm's length for 24 minutes before overpowering its rivals with a big fourth quarter to take a 55-34 victory in the Class 2A title game at Bank OZK Arena.
Junior guard Kenley McCarn turned in a team-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds to earn Most Valuable Player honors for Melbourne, which became the first girls' team to win three consecutive state championships since Nemo Vista's three-peat in Class 1A from 2014-2016.
"Three in a row is great," said an ecstatic Melbourne Coach Eric Teague, who noted earlier in the week that the high expectations to get back to Hot Springs affected his team at times this season. "This [title] was tough. This one was mentally tough for all these kids, mentally tough for me. All of the pressure that was put on us, but kudos to them. They stepped it up and did what we wanted to do.
"They weren't afraid of the spotlight."
The shine was undeniably cast on the Lady Katz after they won title No. 2 a year ago against Quitman. That attention is sure to grow after the season Teague's team just completed.
Gallery: Class 2A Girls Basketball State Championship[Gallery not loading above? Click here for more photos » arkansasonline.com/320girls2a/]
Melbourne (32-1) won its final 31 games, 25 of which came by 10 or more points, beat Class 6A champion Fort Smith Northside and took out a Jonesboro team that has a chance to win the Class 5A state title today. The Lady Katz weren't as dominant against its 2A-2 Conference foes on Friday, but they didn't have to be – they just had to be on the positive side of the scoreboard by game's end.
"They played really well. ... I think they're the No. 1 team in the state if you go by the rankings," said Salem Coach Josh Bateman, whose team lost all five meetings with Melbourne this year. "But for [the Lady Greyhounds] to be in this moment, it can do nothing but help us. Now I told them that if they want to get back to this point, we've got to keep working and improving because we came up short.
"[Melbourne] is better than we are right now, and we've got to keep improving and not be satisfied just to make it here."
The Lady Greyhounds (22-8) didn't play like a team just happy to be in a final. Despite some cold shooting, a game-high 19 points from sophomore guard Chelsea Hamilton had Salem within 37-31 with 5:32 left in the game. But just as Melbourne has done a number of times this season, the Lady Katz went on a back-breaking run to create some separation.
Two free throws from sophomore forward Jenna Lawrence started a closing 18-3 run for the Lady Katz. Lawrence, a University of Arkansas commit, didn't have her usual bulky offensive numbers, but she was consistently effective throughout and finished with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 8 blocks.
Melbourne, which played without Williams Baptist signee Kiley Webb because of a leg injury, also got 10 points and four rebounds from senior forward Kylie Humphries to go along with an all-around game from McCarn, a Tennessee-Martin commit. The Lady Katz never trailed and never allowed the Lady Greyhounds get within that six-point margin from the second quarter until the final horn.
"Josh is a very good coach, and they're tough," Teague said of Salem. "They're probably one of the most physical teams we've played all year. They play every play as hard as they can and are a very good team."
The Lady Katz were just a bit better when they needed to be, particularly in the final quarter. Salem closed within 46-34 with 2:19 remaining on a three-pointer from Hamilton until a pair of free throws from Humphries led to a string of nine consecutive points for Melbourne to finish out the game.
"It was a ton of pressure all throughout the year," Melbourne senior guard Josie Roark said. "It goes away when we're all working as a team in the midst of those games, like you don't even feel it. But when you're getting ready for another tough game like this one, it's a lot of pressure, especially when you know there's people that talk outside of our team.
"It weighs down on you pretty hard, but I think we did a great job overcoming it all throughout the season."
At a glance
CLASS 2A GIRLS
STATE TOURNAMENT SCORES
FINAL
Melbourne 55, Salem 34
SEMIFINALS
Melbourne 70, Fordyce 33
Salem 51, Bigelow 42
QUARTERFINALS
Melbourne 68, Mansfield 26
Fordyce 63, Quitman 57
Salem 59, Acorn 43
Bigelow 55, Murfreesboro 24
FIRST ROUND
Melbourne 77, Riverside 26
Quitman 60, Marmaduke 56
Acorn 45, Parkers Chapel 39
Murfreesboro 43, Cotter 27
Mansfield 51, Horatio 33
Fordyce 58, Flippin 43
Salem 50, Rector 41
Bigelow 70, Des Arc 38
MVP
KENLEY McCARN
MELBOURNE
The junior guard was consistently good for the Lady Katz, who came up with big shots whenever Salem made a charge. McCarn went 5 of 8 from the field and hit all five of her free-throw attempts. She also snagged 7 rebounds and handed out 2 assists while coming up with 1 block and 1 steal in 31 minutes.
AND ONES
Salem was making its first finals appearance since 1969. … Melbourne’s three state consecutive state titles are tied with nine other girls’ teams. … There were only points scored in the game on fast breaks, and that went to Salem. … The Lady Greyhounds held an 11-3 advantage on second-chance points. … Melbourne missed its first free-throw attempt of the game before making 15 in a row. … Salem started just one senior. … The Lady Katz got eight points from its bench compared to none for the Lady Grehounds.
"complete" - Google News
March 20, 2021 at 02:17PM
https://ift.tt/3s9LhV6
Katz complete campaign 32-1 - Arkansas Online - Arkansas Online
"complete" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Fvz4Dj
https://ift.tt/2YviVIP
No comments:
Post a Comment