The 2A-4 District Tournament picked back up on Tuesday, February 14th with a slate of top tier programs lined up for competition. To start Round2 off with a bang, the first game was scheduled for the Western Yell Lady Wolverines versus the Mountainburg Lady Dragons. Even though it was Valentine’s Day, there would be no love lost in the matchup as each program was not only try to advance to the next round, but both were also shooting for their next step to a possible District Championship and a coveted spot in the 2A Regional Tournament.
Both teams started off with an aggressive and fast paced defense, denying each other any easy shots. Mountainburg finally struck first with a fiery three-point shot to take the early lead over the Lady Wolverines. Western Yell was able to roll in a short jump shot, but the Lady Dragons laid in another three pointer to extend their lead to 6-2. The game then turned into a “tag, you’re it” race as Mountainburg matched a Western Yell jump shot and both teams answered each other’s three-point shots putting fans on the edge of their seats early. The only thing that that stopped the back-and-forth dance was the buzzer at the end of the first quarter as Western Yell led Mountainburg 13-11.
Mountainburg came out at the start of the second quarter swinging with a wild defense that temporarily stunned the Lady Wolverines. The Lady Dragons was then able to tie up the game at 13-13 with a short jump shot at the 4:51 mark. Western Yell would not give in to the pressure though and decided to apply some good defensive pressure of their own on the Lady Dragons. The adjustment worked well as the Lady Wolverines ran away with three straight turnovers, all of which ended with points on the scoreboard. Western Yell dominated the rest of the second quarter with their aggressive defense and rolled into halftime with a 25-16 lead over the Lady Dragons.
The second half gave Mountainburg a second chance at regaining momentum, and they did not disappoint. The Lady Dragons started off with a free throw point and followed it up by dropping in a long range three-pointer forcing Western Yell to call a time out at the 6:36 mark. The Lady Wolverines would storm back after the short break to put up four unanswered points of their own extending their lead to 29-20. Western Yell’s run ended just as soon as it started though as fouls sent Mountainburg to the line where they were able to creep up on the scoreboard cutting Western Yell’s lead to 29-24. The Lady Wolverines were rabid rebounders though and took defensive rebounds down court for a six-point run before Mountainburg stopped them with a three-point shot. The late shot was good, but not enough as the Lady Wolverines maintained the lead at 35-27.
Two great programs had one quarter left to leave it all on the floor, but only one would come out of the game with the “W”. The final quarter saw both teams take it literally as the basketball and bodies bounce off the floor. Western Yell and Mountainburg showed that they were willing to give all they had, but Western Yell was able to escape a fiery comeback by Mountainburg to win 56-40. Next in line for the fierce Lady Wolverines will be the top seeded Hector Lady Wildcats. The Round3 showdown will tip off on Thursday, February 16th at 4:00pm at the Mansfield High School gymnasium. The winner will be bound for the 2A-4 District Championship which will be played on Friday, February 17th at 7:00pm while the losing team will vie for third place at 4:00pm.
