By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
SEARCY — It’s better to establish momentum late than never at all.
The Harding Academy Lady Wildcats carried that mantra into the fourth quarter and took a dramatic, 46-41 comeback victory over Charleston in the first round of the 3A state tournament at Rhodes Field House on Wednesday.
The Lady Wildcats (18-13) trailed from the opening tip until the final 4:40, when senior point guard Molly Koch stole the ball and took it the distance for a layup that gave Harding Academy a 33-31 lead.
Koch’s score followed the second of three vital inside shots by junior forward Kristen Lester in the final period.
Charleston (24-10) led by six at halftime and by eight points in the third quarter and controlled the game’s tempo throughout until panic set in when Harding Academy began its rally heading into the final period.
“We really felt like in the first half, we had some careless turnovers, and were kind of tentative on some scoring opportunities,” Lady Wildcats coach Rusty Garner said. “And we missed a good number of free throws — you don’t survive that a lot of times. This team is finishing the year strong, and finishing games strong, so we felt like even down six we were okay.”
The Lady Tigers gave the Lady Wildcats fits in the first half with an aggressive man-to-man defense, and they used their team speed to cover the lane from every corner and still contested shots around the perimeter.
Charleston junior guard Katherine West scored a game-high 16 points, many off transition shots on backcourt steals.
West proved to be one of the fastest guards in all of class 3A as well as a relentless defender. But her aggressiveness cost her late, as she fouled out with 14 seconds left while battling McKenzie Miller for a defensive rebound.
Miller made a free throw to set the final margin and Lady Wildcats junior guard Tory Mote tied up Maci Wisdom on the final possession to clinch it.
“Charleston is a terrific basketball team,” Garner said and praised West. “They come from a really strong region. She is one of the better guards we’ve seen all year, and we’ve seen some great guards. Athletically, she’s terrific.”
As Lester went, so did the Lady Wildcats. She was one of the few players the Lady Tigers overlooked in the first half, but she could not get a number of open inside shots to fall.
Koch, Miller and junior guard Lynley Crowell searched fruitlessly for shooting space on the perimeter, and sometimes became sitting ducks for West and her quick hands.
But when Lester came to life with 5:31 left to play it was the turning point for Harding Academy.
She scored in the lane with an assist from Mote to cut Charleston’s lead to 31-29, and scored again less than a minute later, this time with an assist from Koch to tie the game. Her final basket with 2:38 remaining gave the Lady Wildcats a two-possession lead at 38-33.
“Kristen had every reason to have her head down, because things weren’t going well for her,” Garner said. “And she hit two or three big baskets, found herself in the right place. That stretch for her probably epitomizes how our season’s gone. It really turned the ballgame around for us.”
Koch led the Lady Wildcats with 15 points and had six assists. Crowell added 12 points and Lester nine. Mollie Brotherton scored 15 points for Charleston.
Harding Academy played Valley Springs Friday in the quarterfinal round.
