Gritty Lady Bobcats take 3rd place

The Berryville Lady Bobcats suffered a tough loss in the second round of the CS Bank Holiday Hoops tournament last week at Bobcat Arena. It might even be accurate to call the outcome of Berryville’s 56-55 loss to Heber Springs unfair.

But the Lady Bobcats didn’t waste any time crying over spilled milk. Less than 24 hours later, Berryville was back on the court to beat Crane, Mo., 42-33 in the tournament’s third-place game on Friday, Dec. 30.

“Night two and night three, we played with significantly more effort and energy, and it made a big difference,” Berryville coach Daniel Cornelison said. “I was very proud of our effort. I thought we got better.”

Against Crane, Berryville took control in the third quarter, outscoring Crane 13-2 for a 30-17 lead. Crane didn’t make a shot from the field in the quarter, with both its points coming on free throws.

Freshman Kaylyn Smith led Berryville with 16 points, while senior Mia Thurman added 15 for the Lady Bobcats.

An official’s questionable call had a big impact on the Lady Bobcats’ loss to Heber Springs on Thursday, Dec. 29. Late in the fourth quarter with Berryville leading 55-51, the Lady Bobcats broke the press and Thurman drove to the basket for a layup that would have made it 57-51 and set up a possible three-point play on a blocking foul. Instead, Thurman was called for charging. The call negated the basket and sent Thurman to the bench with her fifth foul. The Lady Bobcats didn’t score again, missing the front ends of two one-andone opportunities in the final 1:39.

“It was a very poor call,” Cornelison said. “I watched it on film as well, just a really poor call. It took potentially three points away from us and put Mia on the bench, which is huge. I think we win the game if that call goes the other way. But, it is what it is. But I thought we played well enough to win the game.”

Heber Springs scored the game’s final five points, including the first of two free throws with 4.4 seconds left that provided the winning margin.

Senior Hannah Youngblood scored 25 points for Berryville in the loss, including 14 points in the first quarter. Thurman added 10. The Lady Bobcats opened the tournament with a 51-42 victory over Monticello on Wednesday, Dec. 28.

Berryville rallied from a 27-26 halftime deficit. The Lady Bobcats scored 16 of their 25 second-half points from the free-throw line, missing just two free throws after halftime. That included a perfect 10-for-10 from Youngblood, who led the Lady Bobcats with 21 points. Sophomore Taelor Tomlinson added 11 in just her second game back after suffering a torn ACL in the offseason.

The Lady Bobcats will play a pair of conference games this week, hosting Huntsville on Tuesday before traveling to Gentry on Friday.