SHERIDAN – To all who must play Sheridan in the 5A state basketball playoffs and next season, be forewarned: Lilly Reid is just a junior.
One of five juniors on the Lady Jackets’ roster, Reid surpassed the 1,000-point milestone Thursday night at Yellowjacket Arena. She did so in a likely perfect setting for her, totaling 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in Sheridan’s 49-43 win over White Hall in the latest U.S. 270 Rivalry installment.
“It’s always been a moment I thought about, and I’m incredibly honored I’ve been able to make it this far and get to this point,” Reid said.
First-year Sheridan Coach Andy Brakebill attested Reid is a basketball junkie just like him.
“She works hard every day,” Brakebill said. “She’s a sponge. She soaks in everything, and her goal is to get better every day. It’s been an awesome time coaching her this year. Great kid, easy to coach.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Ella Williamson had 14 points and 5 steals, and senior classmate Addison Hill dropped in 10 for Sheridan (19-11, 12-4 in 5A-South), which will either play the 5A-East champion if seeded fourth next Tuesday or the 5A-East runner-up if seeded third next Thursday. Greene County Tech is hosting the 5A tournament.
Unlike in the following boys game, not much in the way of playoff scenarios was at stake for the Lady Jackets who needed a win and Lake Hamilton loss at home to Benton to wrap up third place outright in the conference.
White Hall (19-10, 9-7) missed the playoffs by either two or three games, depending on Lake Hamilton’s result, but was looking for a 20-win season and its fourth win in five games. The Lady Bulldogs had defeated Pine Bluff, Texarkana and Hot Springs by an average of 32.3 points before a 41-34 home loss to Lake Hamilton on Tuesday.
A 14-0 start for the Lady Jackets did not deter the Lady Bulldogs from a furious comeback effort. Kynnedi Barnett, who hit all three of White Hall’s 3-pointers, made two of them in the first quarter as White Hall scored its first 10 points in the final 3 minutes of the first quarter and pulled to within 19-10. Barnett finished with 11 points.
That 10-5 run turned into 16-5 as Kennedi Bowman, who led White Hall with 12 points and 6 rebounds, keyed a big second quarter that saw the visiting team tie Sheridan at 22-all with 2:49 left before halftime. Reid splashed her first of three treys to end the rally – and score her 1,000th point – and started a personal 8-0 run to close the half.
“It’s all about surviving,” Reid said. “We just try to shut down their runs when we can and get on our own when we can.”
Sheridan opened up a 43-26 lead midway through the third quarter and led 46-30 going into the final 8 minutes. But the Lady Jackets were outscored 10-0 until Sadie Sterritt’s layup with 1:30 left in the game ended their drought.
White Hall controlled the offensive glass and created free-throw opportunities to claw back but made just 2 of 8 from the line in the quarter. White Hall made 8 of 16 for the game, while Sheridan nailed 8 of 13.