It was the second game in as many days for the Paris basketball program at the Class 3A Region 1 Tournament hosted by West Fork High School. Yesterday, the Paris boys lost a heartbreaker to Bergman, and on Thursday, the Lady Eagles took the stage against the Flippin Lady Bobcats.
In a game that went back and forth for most of the game, the Lady Bobcats were finally able to pull away and secure a win over Paris by the score of 55-49. The game was marred by foul trouble, forcing Paris coach Jonathan Vire to sit a starter who was tagged with three fouls early in the game. As a result, the Lady Eagles found themselves playing a very young team on the floor in a regional playoff game. At times, Paris played a lineup that consisted of three sophomores, a freshman, and one senior.
If foul trouble wasn’t enough of a challenge for Paris coach Jonathan Vire, senior starter Brailey Forst appeared to aggravate an injury she incurred earlier in the season at Booneville. Forst had to sit during a crucial time in the second half for several minutes. She would later return to the game late in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Bobcats were in control of the game and were able to close out the win and move on to the second round of the regional tournament. With the win, Flippin secured a berth in next week’s state tournament and will play conference foe Bergman tomorrow night in the regional semis.
Coupled with last night’s loss in the boys bracket, basketball season is now over in Paris. Both sides of the program, the boys and girls, made big strides in 2022-23 and can be very proud of the progress and the seasons they enjoyed. On the girls side, the Lady Eagles made their first regional tournament appearance in three seasons.
RNN Sports would like to congratulate the Paris basketball program and their coaches for a fine year, and we look forward to covering their programs again next season. RNN Sports will now turn its focus to next week’s state tournament that will be hosted by County Line and will be played on the campus of Ozark High School. We are excited to bring you Indians coverage during their run in next week’s state tournament!
We wish all of the remaining River Valley 3A teams the best of luck in the regionals and in the state tournament. RNN Sports will continue to bring you coverage of those teams as they progress toward a possible appearance in the state finals in March!
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