Foe’s two-pointer pleasing for Lamar

CLASS 3A LAMAR 53, HARDING ACADEMY 52

CHARLESTON — Lamar Coach Brandon Schluterman started to smile when he saw Calle Citty take off to the basket, even though she was on the other team.

The Harding Academy freshman scored the game’s last two points, but her decision allowed Lamar to escape with a 53-52 victory over the Lady Wildcats during Class 3A girls state tournament first-round action in the Tiger Center.

Amber Brown’s two free throws with 9.8 seconds left gave the Lady Warriors (30-3) a 53-50 lead, then Citty made her move to the bucket and scored with 2.9 seconds left. Harding Academy (28-5) had no timeouts left, and Lamar allowed the clock to expire.

“I credited my girls in the locker room because they listened really well,” Schluterman said. “I told them to guard the three-point line and do what you have to do, but don’t take the ball out of bounds if they make a two.

“Sure enough, we let the ball bounce a couple of times, and they were out of timeouts.”

Lamar led 25-24 at halftime despite having twice as many fouls and twice as many turnovers.The Lady Warriors used three-pointers from Lakyn Sanders and Ginny Nordin in the final minute to claim a lead they never relinquished. Lamar started the second half with back-to-back buckets by Brown, then took its biggest lead when Britlyn Kendall’s three-pointer made it 41-33 with 2:28 left in the third quarter.

Harding Academy pulled within 47-46 after a Citty bucket with 3:32 remaining, but Nordin and Brown each hit a free throw to put Lamar back up by three with 1:27 left. Sanders countered a Caroline Citty bucket with two free throws, and Brown did the same for the Lady Warriors’ final two points after Sloane Wiedower’s bucket pulled the Lady Wildcats within 51-50 with 11.5 seconds left.

Sanders finished with 16 points and Brown had 13 for Lamar. Wiedower led Harding Academy with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while the Citty sisters each had 13.

MAYFLOWER 47, TRUMANN 42

Kamiah Turner’s three-point play with 3:14 remaining put Mayflower (23-9) ahead for good as the Lady Eagles completed first-round play with a victory over Trumann (19-13).

Turner finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Jenna McMillen added 14 for Mayflower, which plays Rose Bud in a 7 p.m. quarterfinal game today. Jean-Paul finished with 10 points for Trumann.

MOUNTAIN VIEW 60, HOXIE 41

The defending state champions used a strong second half to break open a close second-round matchup.

Aubrey Isbell scored a game-high 23 points for Mountain View (26-5). Josie Storey added 14 points for the Lady Yellowjackets.

Hoxie was led by Cassidy Clayton’s team-high 18 points.