THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
West Memphis High School Athletics

Little Rock Christian remains in contention to repeat as Class 5A state champions. The Lady Warriors earned a 56-47 victory over West Memphis on Thursday in a Class 5A girls state tournament first-round game at Cyclone Arena. Wynter Rogers led the Lady Warriors, the No. 3 seed from the 5A-West Conference, with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Yasmin Ott had 14 points. Ashton Elley finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Little Rock Christian (22-5) will face Little Rock Parkview (5A-Central No. 4 seed) at 4 p.m. today in the quarterfinals. West Memphis, which was the No. 2 seed from the 5A-East, ended its season at 22-7. Lady Warriors Coach Ronald Rogers, who guided the Little Rock private school to its first state championship last season, said the first game of a state tournament for any team is tough. "This team, I like where we're really at," Rogers said. "We've got good ball-handlers. We've got good shooters, inside and outside. We definitely can make a run for a repeat." Little Rock Christian, which trailed 28-20 at halftime, slowed down West Memphis in the second half, limiting the Lady Blue Devils to 9-of-26 shooting. The Lady Warriors outscored the Lady Blue Devils 36-19. "Our kids were down by eight at halftime," Rogers said. "We answered. We went out and competed." The Lady Warriors took their first lead at 35-34 with 2:54 left in the third quarter after Ott's basket. Little Rock Christian took a 41-39 lead into the fourth quarter. A three-pointer by Isis Isom and a layup from Wynter Rogers extended Little Rock Christian's lead to 48-41 with 5:50 remaining. West Memphis cut the lead to 48-43, but Ott answered with a layup to make it 50-43 with 4:00 left to play. Tiera Bradley had 10 points and nine rebounds to lead West Memphis. Terika Inmon also had 10 points. After the game, West Memphis Coach Sheila Burns announced her retirement. Burns, who led the Lady Blue Devils to a Class AAAAA state championship in 2003 and 10 conference titles, coached at West Memphis since the 1995-96 season. She said it was tough to have the Lady Blue Devils' season end. "We had a lot of talent," Burns said. "It's hard to go out like this. But it happens. I wish them well after this. They'll come back."

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
West Memphis High School Athletics

WARRIORS EARNED A 56-47 VICTORY OVER WEST MEMPHIS

JEREMY MUCK

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 3/6/2020

PHOTO CREDIT: West Memphis High School Athletics