Top seeded Cave City roars past Lady Mustangs 58-40 in NEA semifinals

Defending Northeast Arkansas Invitational Tournament champion Cave City jumped to a 20-4 first period lead and never looked back, defeating Buffalo Island Central 58-40 in last week's Monday afternoon 1-2A-3A semifinals at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro.

BIC's Jamie Harris attempts to deny a shot by a Cave City player in NEA Tournament semifinal action Monday afternoon at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro. (Town Crier photo/Trent Fletcher) [Click to enlarge]

The top seeded Cavewomen were led by Cheyenne Childers who poured in a game high 26 points while grabbing 16 rebounds. Cave City started the game with a 14-1 run as Childers scored 10 points in the opening period. Jenna Pike nailed a three pointer to break the run, but the Cavewomen scored the last six points of the period to build the lead to 16.

BIC battled back in the second period and pulled to within 23-13 on a three point play by Holly Dempsey with 4:00 left in the half, but Cave City outscored the Lady Mustangs 8-2 over the next four minutes to take a 31-15 lead into the dressing room at halftime.

Cave City opened the third quarter with a 5-0 run to build their lead to 21 points. BIC fought back to close the gap to 41-27 heading into the final frame.

The Cavewomen maintained a double digit lead the rest of the way to close out the game and advance to the finals for the second straight season.

Brooklyn Brinkley also hit double figures for Cave City, scoring 13 points.

"Every time we would make a run, Cave City would force a bad shot or cause a turnover," said BIC coach Stan Fowler. "They are a very, very good team. I thought our girls never quit and played hard throughout. I am very proud of them."

Freshman Brittany Fowler led BIC with 18 points while Pike added 10. Dempsey tallied eight points. Shelby Qualls and Jamie Harris added two points apiece.