Star City’s offensive strategy wasn’t pretty, but in the end it proved effective.
The Lady Dogs scored the final seven points of the game Friday night and defeated Pocahontas 41-33 in the second round of the Class 4A state basketball tournament at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
Star City (30-1), which won its 21st consecutive game, spent much of the final three quarters holding the ball on the perimeter after falling into early foul trouble.
Lady Dogs coach Becky Brown said the strategy made the difference for Star City.
“We got in terrible foul trouble,” said Brown, in her 21st season as Star City’s head coach. “We had some kids come off the bench and do a good job of pulling the ball out. We’ve done it a lot this year.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Star City’s offense was well-balanced, with four players scoring seven to nine points each. Juquecia Chaney and Octavian Reedy led the Lady Dogs with nine points apiece, while Lauren Pooree added eight and Tyeshia Harris had seven.
The Lady Dogs’ offensive strategy limited Pocahontas’ scoring opportunities, and the Star City defense made it even more difficult for the Redskins to put the ball in the basket.
Still, Pocahontas had a chance in the fourth quarter.
After trailing 32-25 at the end of the third quarter, Pocahontas opened the fourth quarter with an inside basket from Ashlyn Bigger and a driving layup from Laura Junkersfeld to cut Star City’s lead to 32-29 and force a Lady Dogs timeout with 7:26 left in the game.
A free throw by Pooree and another by Harris pushed Star City’s lead to 34-29 with 2:40 left, but Bigger scored inside with 2:15 remaining to make it 34-31. The teams swapped possessions before Junkersfeld hit a jump shot from the right corner to pull Pocahontas within one, at 34-33, with 49 seconds left.
With 34.3 seconds left, Chaney was fouled and made the first of two free throws for a two-point Star City lead. Chaney missed the second free throw, and Bigger rebounded for Pocahontas.
Bigger threw an outlet pass to Junkersfeld, who drove to the basket for a potential game-tying layup, but the shot rimmed out.
Star City grabbed the rebound and Harris scored and was fouled after a long outlet pass. Harris missed the free throw, but Star City rebounded and Chaney hit two free throws with 14.6 seconds left to make it 39-31. Chaney then closed out the scoring with a steal and driving layup just before the final buzzer.
Bigger led Pocahontas with 12 points and Junkersfeld added nine.
Star City advances to a semifinal game against Malvern at noon Saturday. The Lady Dogs defeated the Lady Leopards in the regional tournament last week.
“They’re a great team,” Brown said. “They’re very athletic. They can jump and rebound. It should be a good game.”