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Bergman holds off Valley Springs for Class 3A Region 1 title

Bergman, which beat Valley Springs for the fourth time this season, built a big lead behind Maddi Holt’s 17 first-half points.

Story and Photo by Glenn Parrish/Booneville Schools Communications Director

Valley View cut a 23-point halftime deficit to nine early in the final quarter then cut a 16-point fourth quarter Bergman lead to eight with 1:28 to play.

But Bergman (38-0) responded to the challenge to pull out a 65-52 win in the Class 3A Region 1 championship game in Booneville Monday night.

Making a bid to end two undefeated seasons in two days, Valley Springs was able to cut into the lead behind the three-point shooting of Halle Miller.

Miller scored 24 to lead the Lady Tigers.

Bergman, which beat Valley Springs for the fourth time this season, had built a big lead behind Maddi Holt’s 17 first-half points, which matched the Valley Springs team total.

It was Holt, who finished with 26, hitting a couple of free throws after Valley Springs got within nine and, after a Kara Ponder 3, Holt hit another for the Lady Panthers, and it was 54-38with 3:20 to play.

Miller and Cayley Patrick scored the next seven points and Valley Springs was back to within 55-47 with 1:28 left.

Patrick, who had nine in the game, hit a 3 with 40 seconds to go to get it to 59-50.

Ponder made sure it got no closer with both a distance 3 and a conventional three-point play that stretched the lead back to 14 with 8.9 seconds to go. Ponder finished with 18 points.

Bergman built its halftime lead with a 27-point second quarter – the Lady Panthers scored at least 40 in the first half of all three regional tournament games.

The quarter included a 12-0 run over a span of 2:39.

Booneville 60 Danville 38

Scoring 14 points and pulling down 18 rebounds, Joleigh Tate made the most of her final game in Bearcat Gymnasium as Booneville won the third-place game in the Class 3A Region 1 tournament, 60-38 over Danville.

Heaven Sanchez, another of the four seniors for Booneville (28-1), added 11 points as the Lady Bearcats beat the Lady Little Johns for the fourth time this season.

Booneville trailed only 1-0 and opened a lead as big as 17 in the first half lead before Danville got back within nine but Tate closed the first half scoring with a driving score just before the buzzer. 

The Lady Bearcats scored the first five points of the second half and led by no less than 14 the rest of the way.

Lydia Stanley scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Danville.