Mount Vernon-Enola and Vilonia girls saw their basketball seasons end abruptly at the wire.
The last two Faulkner County teams standing in regional tournament play exited in the state quarterfinals in less than 24 hours of each other.
Boys teams from Mayflower and Conway Christian were dominated in first-round games Thursday.
MV-ENOLA GIRLS
BRADLEY — The Lady Warhawks appeared to have Acorn buried, then tripped in the final minutes of the Class A girls regional here.
Acorn, the fourth-seeded team from Region 4, outscored MV-Enola, 18-3, in the final 3:30 to take a stunning and incredible, 65-60 victory.
The Lady Warhawks, the No. 3 team from Region 3, led almost the entire game. After two missed free throws with 15 seconds left and Mount Vernon-Enola leading 60-59, Adriana Hill scored for the Lady Tigers with 2.5 seconds left to give her team a 61-60 lead. The Lady Warhawks were then assessed a technical foul for calling a timeout they didn’t have and the Lady Tigers built the cushion with four free throws.
The Lady Warhawks, who had one of their most successful seasons in history end at 33-4, led by six to eight points most of the game. Powered by baskets by Emily Jobe, Heather Prowse and Katie McNinch, they took a 57-47 lead with 3:30 left.
The Lady Tigers increased the defensive pressure, forced some turnovers, hit back-to-back 3-pointers while the Lady Warhawks went cold from both the field and the free-throw line.
The Lady Tigers drew within 58-57 with 1:45 left before two free throws by Prowse gave the Lady Warhawks their last lead at 60-57.
VILONIA
PINE BLUFF — In a tight defensive scrap between two of the top 5A teams in the state, Paragould got the last two stops in a 38-35 victory over Vilonia at the Pine Bluff Convention Center on Thursday night.
Sidney Layrock scored eight of her 14 points in the fourth quarter, including two free throws with 1:10 left to give the Lady Rams a 38-33 lead. Ashlyn Hightower drew Vilonia (25-4) within 38-35, then the Lady Eagles had two possessions in the last 30 seconds with no clear shot at the basket and missed three shots at the wire.
The Lady Rams (23-4) surged to a seven-point lead midway through the third quarter before Vilonia rallied. A driving basket by Audrey Moran at the third-quarter buzzer completed a 10-2 run to give the Lady Eagles a 30-29 lead going into the final period.
McKenzie Gray and Moran each had eight points for the Lady Eagles. Hightower and Hannah Schnebelen each had seven.
MAYFLOWER
SEARCY — Osceola (14-13) outscored Mayflower, 20-9, in the second quarter on the way to a 74-55 victory over the Eagles, who ended their season at 18-8.
Mayflower cut the lead to 10 with 4:30 left but could get no closer.
Dane Richardson led Mayflower with 17 points, Drew Duncan added 11 and J.P. Perry had 10. with 17,
CONWAY CHRISTIAN
MARMADUKE — Parkers Chapel used outside shooting to build a 30-19 halftime lead on the way to a 58-39 victory over the CCS boys, who were making their first Class AA state tournament appearance.
Mark Belvardi and John Nekonchuk each scored nine points for the Eagles.
(Sports columnist David McCollum can be reached at david.mccollum@thecabin.net or at 501-505-1235. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www.thecabin.net. Send us sports news at sports@thecabin.net)