Mountain View senior girls basketball team concluded its season Saturday with a 44-40 loss to McGehee in the Class 3A state semifinals at Osceola.
McGehee advances to the state championship game to play Manila, the team Mountain View defeated in overtime in the regional semifinals.
In Saturday’s 44-40 loss, the Lady Owls held Erin Akins to five points overall, and held the Lady Yellowjackets to only three points – a trey from Addy Davis – in the second quarter to take a 28-16 lead at halftime.
McGehee continued to combine a strong inside game with extended range to maintain a 10-point margin through the third quarter. Mountain View got a layup and a mid-range jumper from Davis, and a rebound basket plus a three-pointer from Emma Akins. Just before the period ended, Emma Akins blocked a shot and stole the ball and Erin Akins beat her defender to the other end for a layup that made the score 37-27.
The Lady Owls slowed their play in the fourth quarter and didn’t score until two minutes elapsed with a three-pointer that circled the hoop before dropping in. This countered a trey by Mountain View’s Brooklyn Everett on the possession before.
The Lady Yellowjackets made a run with Davis scoring a basket and then a freethrow, and Erin Akins stealing the ball and completing a three-point play after she was fouled to narrow the gap to 40-36 with about four minutes left to play. A Lady Owl quickly scored with an offensive rebound, however.
With less than a minute on the clock, the Lady Yellowjackets still challenged, with Emma Akins hitting a pair of freethrows and Davis scoring on a Mountain View steal to get within two points. Mountain View could not get another clean steal and McGehee was able to successfully inbound the ball multiple times after fouls before reaching the bonus threshold and sending a player to the freethrow line with 14 seconds on the clock. She made both shots for a 44-40 lead that held for the final score.
Davis led scoring with 16 points, while Emma Akins had 14.
Coach T.J. Coleman expressed pride in the small group of players who worked together for a successful season.
“Finishing with a 32-5 record, winning the regional championship, going undefeated in conference and reaching the state tournament Final Four says a lot about them. It was a special season,” he said. “Our team showed great effort and character, and represented the Lady ’Jacket program well.”
In quarterfinal action, Mountain View trounced Harding Academy 66-35, triggering the mercy rule in the final minutes.
Erin Akins scored 27 and Addy Davis added 23 in that effort.
Mountain View began the tournament with a 57-37 win over DeWitt. Erin Akins led a balanced scoring effort with 19 points, while Emma Akins and Josie Stevens each added 10 points, Everett scored 9 and Davis 8.
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