By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The Carlisle girls did all they could to hang with Class 4A eStem Charter in the first round of the Goldfish Classic at Lonoke High School on Saturday, but the Lady Mets had too much depth and skill for the Class 2A Lady Bison to keep up with, and as a result, eStem won 61-44.
Carlisle (7-4, 6-0) had won six-straight conference games coming into the Goldfish Classic, but in the first quarter of Saturday’s game, the Lady Bison were sluggish on both ends of the floor.
Jumping out to an 8-0 lead, eStem played like last year’s Class 3A state champions. Carlisle leading scorer Kylie Warren scored the first Lady Bison point with a free throw at the 3:27 mark of the opening quarter, and added the team’s only field goal of the quarter, a 3-pointer, with 46 seconds left.
Warren’s three was also the final bucket of the first quarter, which cut the Lady Mets’ lead to 12-6. Warren scored the first three points of the second quarter, all from the free-throw line, and Carlisle got within two of eStem’s lead, trailing 13-11.
However, the Lady Bison run led to fatigue, and sophomore starter Kayla Golleher fouled out with 3:46 left in the first half. The Lady Mets were able to capitalize, and by halftime, eStem led 31-18.
The Lady Mets pushed their lead to 15 80 seconds into the second half with a driving layup by junior guard Gia Hayes, which made the score 33-18. Carlisle did, however, start the second half shooting well.
The Lady Bison made their first four shots from the floor and made five of their first six. Near the three-minute mark of the third quarter, Carlisle got back within single digits of eStem’s lead on an Elex McClain putback that made the score 38-30.
eStem, though, ended the quarter with a 5-0 run that was capped with an and-1 by Hayes with 1:50 remaining. That set the third quarter margin at 43-30.
Warren got Carlisle within 11 of the Lady Mets’ lead, 45-34, with a pair of free throws with 6:50 left to play, but that was as close as the Lady Bison would get the rest of the way.
By that point, the Lady Bison were absolutely worn out, physically, and eStem, just like it did at the end of the first half, was able to pull away as the game progressed.
Hayes pushed the Lady Mets’ lead to 20 with a driving lay-in as the game came to a close. That made the score 61-41, and Carlisle set the final score with a 3-pointer by Nicquira Burnett with three seconds remaining.
Carlisle finished the game 14 of 36 from the floor for 39 percent. Conversely, eStem was 23 of 63 from the floor for 37 percent. The Lady Mets outrebounded the Lady Bison 32-21, and eStem committed 22 turnovers to Carlisle’s 27.
From the free-throw line, Carlisle finished the game 12 of 25 for 48 percent. eStem was 11 of 15 from the stripe for 73 percent.
Warren led all scorers with 24 points. She also had four rebounds, three steals and two blocks. McClain and Molli Weems each had six points for Carlisle. McClain added eight rebounds. Burnett had five points for Carlisle and point guard Peyton Hitchings had three.
Three different players scored in double figures for eStem. Hayes led the Lady Mets with 22 points and five steals. Mariah Adams had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and teammate Knya Dailey had 11 points.
Carlisle played Des Arc after deadlines on Monday in the consolation round of the Goldfish Classic, and the Lady Bison played their final game of the tournament yesterday. Look for details of those games in Saturday’s edition of The Leader.
