Lady Bobcats fall in 1st round of state tournament

Heading into the Berryville Lady Bobcats’ Class 4A state tournament opener against Forrest City, Berryville coach Daniel Cornelison was concerned about the rebounding battle.

Unfortunately for the Lady Bobcats, that concern was justified.

The Lady Mustangs dominated the inside, muscling their way to offensive rebounds and easy baskets from short range on the way to a 59-33 victory over Berryville on Thursday, March 5, at Devil Dog Arena in Morrilton.

“They were a good ballclub,” Cornelison said. “Rebounding was a big concern going into the game. They just rebound the ball like crazy. That really hurt us, just not being able to get rebounds when we needed to.”

Forrest City, which entered the game with a record of 28-3, held Berryville to just one basket in the first quarter to take a 13-2 lead. The Lady Bobcats were within striking distance at halftime, trailing 26-14, and had their best stretch of the game to open the third quarter.

Senior Hailey Howerton connected on a three-pointer from the right corner just 23 seconds into the quarter. Less than a minute later, classmate Chaney Fairweather scored on a putback to get the Lady Bobcats within seven at 2619. Forrest City responded with a 12-2 run, however, to open up a 17-point cushion. The Lady Mustangs led by at least 16 the rest of the way.

“I was pleased with the girls,” Cornelison said. “We fought. We competed the whole game and made a little run out of it in the third quarter. But in the end, it was just a couple of things. I was real concerned about, if they really wanted to guard us, if we could score the ball consistently and I thought they guarded us really well and we had a hard time scoring the ball.”

Forrest City, on the other hand, did most of its damage close to the basket, patiently dissecting Berryville’s zone defense for easy looks.

“They did a really good job with it,” Cornelison said. “I was pretty surprised, honestly, at how patient they were against (the zone), but I think they’ve seen it quite a bit all year long. So they just did a good job moving the ball and trying to get it to the right spots. We worked on really trying to keep it out of a couple of spots, but everything eventually breaks down.”

Kassidi Smith scored a game-high 23 points for Forrest City, which went on to lose to Pulaski Academy in the tournament quarterfinals.

“She’s a special kind of athlete,” Cornelison said. “We had a hard time guarding her once she caught it, and a really hard time keeping her off the boards.”

Howerton led Berryville with 15 points, while Fairweather had 13. Those two, along with classmates Tessa Johnson and Paige Thurman, played their final game for the Lady Bobcats. The senior class led Berryville to two consecutive state tournament appearances and a 24-11 record this season.

“They are just four special kids,” Cornelison said. “I told them after the game, I just love ’em to death. I was just so proud of what they’ve accomplished. I told ’em: ‘Don’t let this game tarnish what you guys accomplished.’ They did everything the right way. They played hard every day. Had the right attitude. Just great kids. I’m just really pleased that I got the opportunity to coach them.”