The Newton County Academy Lady Generals won two out of three contests and finished third in the Class 2A North State Tournament last week.
The Lady Generals opened up with a 57-37 win over West Memphis before falling 48-25 to Lee Academy on Friday. The Lady Generals bounced back with a 44-36 win over Tunica Academy on Saturday to finish third in the tournament.
The NCA girls advance to the Class 2A state tournament at Benton Academy this week.
The NCA girls will take on Greenville Christian on Wednesday at 4:15 p.m. The winner will play the winner of Columbus Christian and Claiborne Academy on Friday at 3 p.m. with the girls championship game set for Saturday at 2:15 p.m.
NCA girls 57, West Memphis 37
The Lady Generals gradually built a double-digit lead and took a 20-point win in the opening round of Class 2A North State Tournament.
NCA outscored West Memphis 12-5 in the first and 16-10 in the second to lead 28-15 at the half. NCA continued to build its lead in the second half as they outscored West Memphis 10-6 in the third and 19-16 in the fourth to take the win.
Lilly Hollingsworth had a huge game for NCA with 18 points and 16 rebounds while Cayden Alexander had 13 points. Asten Russell also chipped in 10 points.
Lee, Ark. 48, NCA 25
The Lady Generals fell behind early and dropped a 23-point decision to Lee Academy on Friday in the tournament semifinals.
Lee led 10-5 at the end of the first and then outscored NCA 14-9 to lead 24-14 at the half. But Lee put the game away in the third as they outscored NCA 17-4 to lead 41-18 going into the fourth, where each team scored seven points.
Lilly Hollingsworth led NCA with nine points and eight rebounds while Belle Hollingsworth had six points and Ashlyn Mathis pulled down five rebounds.
NCA girls 44, Tunica Academy 36
The Lady Generals overcame and early deficit and rallied to take an eight-point win over the Lady Blue Devils.
Tunica took an early lead as they outscored NCA 12-9 in the first period. But NCA bounced back in the second, outscoring Tunica 12-3 to lead 21-15 at the half. NCA extended its lead in the third, outscoring Tunica 8-4 to take a 28-19 lead into the fourth. Tunica took the fourth 17-15 for the final margin.
Lilly Hollingsworth had another double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds while Asten Russell had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Russell and Lilly Hollingsworth were each named to the All-tournament team.
