Arkansas high school girls basketball state tournament: Farmington cruises past Nashville to reach 4A title game
In what many considered to be the actual “state championship game,” the Farmington girls led wire-to-wire Saturday in a 69-35 romp over Nashville in the semifinals of the Class 4A tournament, on the Lady Cardinals’ home court.
The two schools had met in the past two state title games, each winning one – Nashville toppled Farmington, 42-41, on a late 3-pointer, in 2022, then the Lady Cardinals returned the favor with a 65-61 in last season’s finale.
But this year, the two powerhouses were slated on the same side of the state bracket, thus the semifinal showdown.
Although Farmington (36-1) lost the state’s top player a year ago, when Jenna Lawarence graduated and took her game to the next level, the Lady Cardinals still had the hosses to go to. Most notably, 6-foot-3 junior Zoey Bershers, who gave the team a noticeable size advantage.
Bershers dominated on the inside against the Scapperettes (29-5), but also ventured out beyond the 3-point arc. She finished with a game-high 18 points, including 10 in the third quarter, while drilling three from deep.
“The energy in this place was incredible – you can’t get much better than that,” Bershers said of the home-crowd advantage, including a boisterous student section. “We all woke up ready to go this morning, because we knew they were going to call it their ‘revenge’ game. But this is our home, so we had to come protect it.
The Cardinals jumped out to an early 16-8 first-quarter lead, locking down Nashville defensively, while continuing to make shots. Back-to-back steals and layups by Mirin Adams midway through the second quarter put Farmington up 26-17. A putback two minutes later by Kaycee McCumber helped send the Cardinals to the half with a 32-20 advantage.
“I think we shot it really well early, and I thought defensively, we played absolutely phenomenal,” said head coach Brad Johnson. “I thought we were great on the glass, really on both ends. I thought we really asserted ourselves in the paint. Just kudos to our kids for the effort and the focus that they had.”
Bershers took over on both ends of the court in the third, scoring 10 of Farmington’s 27 points in the period, including an early triple to keep the momentum building.
“I just know that when I’m open I’ve got to shoot it, because if I don’t make it I know my teammates will go get the rebound,” Bershers added.
Hannah Moss sank two of her four 3-pointers in the third quarter, including one at the buzzer, from in front of the Cardinals’ bench to extended the lead to 29, heading to the final quarter. Moss and McCumber finished with 12 points each.
The crowd got cranked up one final time when senior Naomi Hernandez came off the bench and nailed a three with 53 seconds left, putting the bow on the victory.
“I think Nashville is one of the best teams in the state of Arkansas, regardless of classification,” Johnson said. “But our kids were just locked in today and they fed off the energy in the building.
“The energy in here was outstanding, our community was looking forward to this game, and the build-up was huge. Again, our kids just fed off of it, so I can’t think of a more special moment to happen right here in front of our fans.”
Senior point-guard Resse Shirey scored 10 points, but controlled the flow of the game with fluid distribution.
Junior Shalyn Lyle paced Nashville with a team-high 13 points, while her sister, Jessie Lyle, added 8.
The Cardinals will now go for their second straight state championship in Hot Springs, facing Morrilton on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Morrilton 51, Gravette 50
Morrilton looked to be in control early in the game, but the scrappy Gravette Lady Lions weren’t about to go down easily in Saturday night’s 4A state semifinal.
The Lady Devil Dogs (32-2) climbed out to a five point first-quarter lead, then extended it to 14 by the halftime intermission.
Gravette senior Dalacie Wishon poured in 11 of her 13 points in the third quarter, as the Lions outscored Morrilton 18-7 in the period, to cut the lead down to three.
But the Devil Dogs struck back to begin the fourth, when Aubrey Henderson and Sophia Wahrmund stroked back-to-back threes to make it 43-34. Henderson finished with a team-high 17 points, while senior Johnna Brockman added 12.
A layup by Gravette’s Meara Russell eventually cut the lead to two with 26 seconds remaining.
After Jennifer Hartman sank two free throws for the Devil Dogs, Lady Lion Alexa Parker hit a driving layup with 19 ticks remaining. The Lions had a chance to tie it with a three in the final seconds, but missed on a triple. Keeley Elsea did grab the rebound and put it back in at the buzzer, but that wasn’t quite enough.
Parker finished with a game-high 22 points for Gravette (26-10), including 8 in the final quarter. Brynn Romine chipped in 11.
