Area Wide News: Sports

Heartbreaker in Hillcrest (03/10/10)
Bears fall to red-hot host team in state quarters

Nipped by Norphlet (03/10/10)
An outstanding season came to a close March 4 for the Melbourne Lady Bearkatz with a tough 44-43 loss to the Norphlet Lady Leopards in the quarter-final round of the Class 2A State Tournament at Carlisle. The teams traded scores in the late-going and it was a basket in the lane by Norphlet's Kyia Williams with 6.1 seconds to go that sealed the verdict...

Rematch of title game comes in first round, goes to Conway St. Joseph (03/10/10)
They were hoping for another meeting in the Spa City. In the state finals. Instead, the Melbourne Bearkatz and Conway St. Joseph had to settle for a date in Carlisle. In the opening round of the Class 2A State Tournament. But the one thing that didn't change from the team's previous meeting -- unfortunate for Katz' fans -- in last year's Class 2A state title game was the outcome...

Poyen turns tables on Lady Horns (03/10/10)
Late push by Viola comes up just short in first round

Kingston rallies past Calico Rock (03/10/10)
The Kingston Lady Yellowjackets are well-versed in the art of winning close games in the state tournament the past couple of years. After all, the Lady Yellowjackets played themselves all the way to the state championship game last season, that performance coming on the heels of Kingston walking away with a state title the year before...

Lady Katz regional champs (03/03/10)
Fresh off their district tournament-winning performance one week earlier, the Melbourne Lady Bearkatz kept things rolling towards the state tournament with a 70-62 win over Cotter in the championship game of the Class 2A North Region Tournament Feb. 27 at Midland High School...

Rockets edge Melbourne (03/03/10)
You can bank on thing thing for certain -- every time the Melbourne Bearkatz and Turrell Rockets hook up on the hardwood, there's bound to be enough excitement to fill up a gymnasium of any size. And such was the case Feb. 27 at Midland High School, host of the Class 2A North Regional Tournament...

Calico Rock makes statement in regional (03/03/10)
Talk about a trend reversal. Going into the Class 1A Region 2 Tournament finals at Harold Ray Jeffery Gymnasium in Calico Rock Feb. 27, you could say that the host team and the Viola Lady Longhorns were very familiar with each other. After all, the two 1A-2 North foes had faced each other three times on the year. And although the Lady Pirates had won all three meetings, Viola had managed to edge closer with each outing...

Pirates push Warriors (03/03/10)
They may not have earned a berth in the state tournament, but the Calico Rock Pirates still gave the Ridgefield Christian Warriors all they could handle in the opening round of the Class 1A Region 2 Tournament. Although it was pushed, Ridgefield Christian managed to top the Pirates 51-40 Feb. 25 at Harold Ray Jeffery Gymnasium in Calico Rock...

Bears clipped by Bay in regional finals (03/03/10)
The Class 1A Region 2 Tournament's championship game featured a battle between two of the top-ranked boys' team in Class 1A, the second-ranked Bay Yellowjackets (38-6) and the fifth-ranked Mammoth Spring Bears (26-8). And although Bay claimed the regional tourney title with a 50-41 victory over the Bears Feb. 27 at Harold Ray Jeffery Gymnasium in Calico Rock, the Yellowjackets knew they had been in a fight by the time the contest was over...

Bay ends Lady Bears' hoops season (03/03/10)
The Mammoth Spring Lady Bears' season came to a close with a loss in the first round of the Class 1A Region 2 Tournament Feb. 24 at Harold Ray Jeffery Gymnasium in Calico Rock. The top-seeded Bay Lady Yellowjackets took advantage of a big 20-8 run to break up a close game early and knock off Mammoth Spring 60-41...

Yellowjackets fly past Horns in regional (03/03/10)
The Viola Longhorns ran into a buzz-saw in the first round of the Class 1A Region 2 Tournament Feb. 24 at Harold Ray Jeffery Gymnasium in Calico Rock. Jumping out to a big first-period lead, the top-seeded Bay Yellowjackets knocked off the Horns (23-11) 52-27...

Look Out Below! (02/25/10)
LOOK OUT BELOW: Spencer Caraway throws down a two-handed slam against Walnut Ridge in the district tournament finals Feb. 20.

Walnut Ridge no problem for Katz (02/25/10)
You could tell by the way they took the court at Bill McCurley Gymnasium in Imboden Feb. 20 that the Walnut Ridge Bobcats badly wanted the championship trophy that goes to the victor of the 2-2A District Tournament. The Bobcats came out of the locker room with intense focus etched all over their faces...

Lady Bearkatz add to perfect conference season (02/25/10)
What's the best way to celebrate an undefeated run through the conference ranks? If you're the Melbourne Lady Bearkatz, the state's number five team in Class 2A hoops, you celebrate a 12-0 record in the regular conference season by winning yet another district tournament title...

Cougars stopped in opening round of district play (02/25/10)
Izard County saw its basketball season come to a close in the first round of the 1A-2 North District Tournament Feb. 16 at the Longhorn Corral in Viola. The third-seeded Calico Rock Pirates stopped the sixth-seeded Cougars 55-46. Calico Rock opened the game on a 16-6 burst and then hit some timely free throws down the stretch to fend off Izard County...

Bears best Hillcrest for title (02/25/10)
In a game of high hopes, the Hillcrest Screamin' Eagles sought payback for the pair of close losses they suffered to the Mammoth Spring Bears in regular season play. However, the championship game of the 1A-2 North District Tournament ended much the same way, with the top-seeded Bears knocking off the Screamin' Eagles 72-62 at the Longhorn Corral in Viola Feb. 20...

Ouch! (02/25/10)
Colby Harber gets fouled hard in the district tourney. The Salem Greyhounds held a nine-point lead at the end of three periods, but that cushion wasn't large enough as Sloan-Hendrix rallied to knock off Salem 58-53 in overtime, in the first round of the 2-2A District Tournament Feb. ...

Calico Rock passes Viola for district crown (02/25/10)
In just what one would expect in a district tournament championship game, the homestanding Viola Lady Longhorns and Calico Rock Lady Pirates turned up the intensity in front of a jam-packed crowd at the Longhorn Corral Feb. 20. The Lady Longhorns did blue collar work in the first quarter to hold a 16-10 lead over the Lady Pirates, and although Viola maintained pace in the second, Calico Rock took advantage of a couple of long-range buckets to go up 22-20 at the break...

Junior Lady Hounds dropped in finals (02/25/10)
Trailing by nine points, 19-10, at halftime, the Salem junior Lady Greyhounds could only score 12 points in the last two periods of play, falling 36-22 to Cedar Ridge in the championship game of the 2-2A District Junior High Tournament Feb. 16 at Sloan-Hendrix High School. The junior Lady Greyhounds fell behind 10-3 after the first period of play and just could not catch up with the junior Lady Timberwolves. Cedar Ridge led 25-13 after three...

Melbourne sweeps titles in conference (02/17/10)
Melbourne cleaned up with a pair of 2-2A Conference titles by dispatching Walnut Ridge Feb. 11 at The Arena in Melbourne. The Lady Katz (23-6) whipped Walnut Ridge 63-45, giving Melbourne the conference crown with a perfect 12-0 mark. The Bearkatz (27-5) followed up that performance by knocking off the Bobcats 68-54, ending their 2-2A campaign with an 11-1 mark...

Junior Horns whip Hillcrest (02/17/10)
It may not have had the same eye-pleasing visual impact as when he exploded off the floor for a one-handed jam against Calico Rock in the semi-final round, but Austin Gardner still managed to help slam the door shut on the Hillcrest junior Screamin' Eagles a couple of nights later...

Viola tourney champions (02/17/10)
The Viola junior Lady Longhorns used a productive stretch early in the fourth period to open up enough space to capture the 1A-2 North District Junior High Tournament title with a 30-22 victory over Calico Rock Feb. 13 at Norfork High School. The fourth-seeded junior Lady Horns held a slim 20-17 lead after three periods of play...

Salem tops Lady Cougars (02/17/10)
Jumping in front 14-7 after the first period, the Salem Lady Greyhounds pushed past the visiting Izard County Lady Cougars 61-45 at the Dawg Pound Feb. 11. The Lady Hounds led 26-14 at the half and 41-26 after three periods of play. Chelsea Maguffee paved the way for Salem with a game-high 25 points. Abbey Blevins followed with 14 and Bethany Pate added nine...

Izard County juniors fall (02/17/10)
The Izard County junior high basketball teams saw their seasons draw to a close in the opening round of the 1A-2 North Junior High District Tournament at Norfork Feb. 10. The junior Cougars were stopped by Calico Rock 30-15. The junior Pirates led 12-6 after one, 18-11 at the half and 26-14 after three...