Lady Lions advance in NEA Tourney

Manila put together a strong defensive effort and went on to defeat East Poinsett County 39-28 in the first round of the NEA Tournament Saturday at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.

Both teams had trouble putting the ball in the hole in the opening quarter. EPC got its only points of the first period on a three pointer by Keragan Gordon at the 6:25 mark. The Lady Lions got their first bucket with 3:23 left in the opening frame on a Sydney Adcock offensive stick-back. Brailey Hampton knocked down a pair of free throws and scored on a lay-in to give Manila a 6-3 edge after the first break.

Manila stretched its lead to 10-3 midway through the second stanza before the Lady Warriors charged back with five straight points to slice the Manila lead to 10-8 at the 2:51 mark. Hampton answered with a trey of her own, and when Micah Beach canned a pair of free throws, the Lady Lions went to the dressing room holding a 15-8 advantage.

Bre Ward opened the second half, sinking a triple for the Lady Warriors, trimming the Manila advantage to 15-11. But the Lady Lions would score the next nine points of the game to pull ahead to a 26-11 lead. Ward’s 10-footer closed out the quarter, but Manila enjoyed a 13-point advantage.

Manila got back to back treys to begin the fourth period from Anna Grace Adams, taking a 32-15 lead at the 5:57 mark. Forced to foul, EPC sent Manila to the foul stripe where the Lady Lions iced the game away.

Hampton paced Manila with 10 points. Adams scored nine, Adcock and Beach had eight points apiece while Ashten Wallace added four points. Manila connected on 11-19 free throws and hit four three pointers.

Gordon scored a game high 11 points to top EPC while Ward added nine. EPC failed to get to the free throw line but did connect on six treys.

The Lady Lions began the week playing host to Trumann in a 3A-3 conference matchup. Trumann’s Mallory Hartley pumped in 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to help the Lady Wildcats to a 53-40 win over Manila.

Trumann led 14-10 after the first quarter, 28-19 at the half and 43-28 entering the final frame.

Anna Grace Adams paced the Lady Lions with 18 points while Hampton also hit double digits, scoring 14. Adcock tallied six while Kaitlynn Adams chipped in two.

In the junior high contest, Manila downed Trumann 30-20. Kara Watts scored 11 points to lead the Lady Lions. Sadie McDonald had eight, Madison Hitchcock tallied six, Olivia May netted three while Macy Darby posted two points.

Manila entertained Hoxie Thursday night and fell 59-29 to the Lady Mustangs. Hoxie held a 15-12 edge after the opening quarter before increasing their lead to 32-18 at the half. Hoxie held a 46-23 advantage after three periods of play.

Sydney Gillham posted a double-double with 23 points and 10 boards to lead Hoxie. Kaitlyn Henson and Tessa Glenn chipped in 10 points apiece.

Hampton paced Manila with 13 points. Adcock scored seven, Beach had five while Wallace and Anna Grace Adams had two points each.

In the junior high game, Hoxie’s Jacie Brown poured in 24 points and snared 14 rebounds to lead the Lady Mustangs to a 29-26 victory over Manila.

Hitchcock paced the Lady Lions with 11 points. Darby had seven, May and Watts tallied three points apiece while McDonald added two points.

Manila (5-5, 2-3) will return to action Monday night when they play host to Walnut Ridge. Manila travels to Gosnell Thursday before returning to NEA action at 10:30 Friday morning against Rector.