C2D2: Lady Tigers advance to semifinals with win over Greenville

VAN BUREN — Everything has come down to this moment where many teams will compete against the best in their district, hoping to be crowned a district champion to land a spot in the state tournament.

With the No. 1 seed Thayer High School holding a first-round bye in the Class 2 District 2 Tournament, the other remaining teams went head-to-head on Monday at Van Buren High School for a chance to play in the semifinals.

The No. 4 seed Neelyville Lady Tigers and the No. 5 seed Greenville Lady Bears kicked off the tournament, and after the last matchup, one would assume the Lady Tigers held the advantage before the tipoff.

The Lady Tigers wasted no time building up a comfortable lead for an easy ride to the next round with a 64-37 victory over the Lady Bears.

“This was a good win, but it’s just the first step,” Lady Tigers head coach Becky Hale said. “Our main goal for this game was to push the ball and capitalize on the fastbreak. We wanted to get accustomed to playing on this floor, so I made sure we did a lot of running in hopes of getting us ready for the next round.”

The Lady Tigers entered the matchup with a 16-10 record for the regular season and the last time these two teams faced off, the Lady Tigers defeated Greenville 60-27, so of course, they held the upper hand.

As expected, the Lady Tigers started out strong with a series of baskets. Junior Jade Crosswhite got the game rolling for Neelyvillve with a quick layup for the initial jump ball. The Lady Tigers saw an opening to extend the lead early as Greenville struggled to handle the ball.

The Lady Tigers outscored Greenville for much of the first half as they connected with many 3-pointers and shots under the basket. While holding a 49-28 lead to start the final quarter, the Lady Tigers secured their win as they continued to execute on easy baskets inside the paint.

Senior Layni Dobbins led the Lady Redbirds with 20 points, hitting many shots from beyond the arc. Jade Crosswhite added 13 points, Parker Ernst had nine, and Alexus Shepherd and Makynli Day each had six.

Ella Walk led Greenville with 15 points, while Ashlyn West added 12.

Last season, the Lady Tigers won the Class 2 District 1 championship, but now in a different district, they will have to put their skills to the test as they take on different levels of competition. Hale said she wanted to be in this district for an opportunity to get better and with three state-ranked teams in the district, Hale believes they have enough to make some noise also.

The Lady Tigers will take on Thayer on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Van Buren High School, and Hale said they are going to need to play a complete game to get past their opponent.

“Thayer is pretty good,” Hale said. “They’re big, quick and can shoot. We’re going to have to have the best game of our lives.”