The high school basketball season comes to an end Saturday in Arkansas, and three area girls’ teams will look to finish the year with the state’s biggest prizes. Melbourne, Mountain View and Rural Special will each play for state championships in Hot Springs.
Mountain View will have the first game of the day as they compete for the Class 3A title. The Lady Yellowjackets will be paired with Atkins.
Mountain View brings a 28-5 record into the the finals, and they started the tournament as the Region 1 champions. Lady Yellowjackets’ head coach Casey Scribner says the team has a healthy balance of veterans and young kids.
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Mountain View will face an Atkins team with a record of 27-6. The Lady Red Devils entered the tournament after finishing third in Region 2.
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Tip-off at Bank OZK Arena is scheduled for noon.
Rural Special will have the middle game of the day as they play for the Class 1A state title. The Lady Rebels go up against the defending state champions from Wonderview for the fourth time this season.
Rural Special is currently 30-11 on the year, and they began the tournament last week after a third place finish in Region 3. Lady Rebels’ head coach Trey Berry says the team’s success this year is reminiscent of years past when Rural Special was one of the top teams in the state.
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Wonderview, located in Hattieville in Conway County, is a familiar team since they are a conference foe of the Lady Rebels. The Lady Daredevils won the two regular season matchups and later beat Rural Special in the semifinals of the 1A-5 District Tournament at Timbo.
This will be the seventh appearance in the finals in a nine-year period for Wonderview, and last year, they won their second title during that time. The Lady Daredevils are the Region 3 champions with a record of 33-6, and Berry says they are a disciplined team on both ends of the floor.
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Gametime is slated for 3:30.
The final state championship game of the three-day event at Hot Springs will feature the girls’ team from Melbourne. The Lady Bearkatz will play for the Class 2A title as they take on Riverside.
Melbourne is the champion of the North region with a mark of 29-4. Lady Bearkatz head coach Eric Teague says this is a special time for him since he is able to coach at his alma mater.
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Similar to Rural Special, Melbourne is also facing a conference foe in Riverside. The Lady Bearkatz won both regular season meetings and also beat the Lady Rebels in the 2A-3 District Tournament at Buffalo Island Central High School in Monette, and Teague says these two teams are very familiar with each other.
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Riverside brings a 35-7 record into the finals. The Lady Rebels are the third place team from the North region.
Tip-off at Bank OZK Arena is set for 7 p.m.
All three games can be seen Saturday on AETN.
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