Arkansas high school girls basketball state tournament: Farmington, Nashville to collide in Class 4A semifinals

The two teams have played for the past two state championships

For the first time in three years, Farmington and Nashville will not meet in the girls’ Class 4A State Championship game. But they will meet in Saturday’s semifinal matchup, to be held on the Cardinals’ home court. 

Both teams rolled easily through their quarterfinal matchups on Thursday, as Farmington toppled Clinton, 71-32, and Nashville pounded Forrest City, 95-48.

Farmington (35-1) defeated Nashville in last year’s state title tilt, a year after the Scrapperettes defeated the Lady Cardinals in the 2022 state finals.

Farmington ran past Clinton on Thursday night. (Photo by Steve Andrews)

After Clinton’s Gracee Linville opened the game with an early three to give the Yelowjackets (23-12) a brief lead, Farmington’s Marin Adams quickly returned the favor with a triple of her own, which seemed to quickly rev the Cardinals engine. The home team took an 18-7 first-quarter lead, before extending the margin to 17 by the end of the half.

Senior point-guard Reese Shirey hit 12 of her game-high 22 points in the first half, which quickly set the pace for Farmington.

“We started off making shots, so that helps,” Shirey said. “We were able to push in transition and got a bunch of easy stuff to fall, so that kind of got us in our groove.”

Shirey went on a personal 7-0 run early in the third quarter that virtually put the game out of reach, considering the Cardinals suffocating defense against the Yellowjackets. Clinton got outscored 27-5 in the third period.

“I thought the pace was really good,” said Farmington head coach Brad Johnson. “We would have like to have finished better, early around the rim. We were super aggressive, as far as moving the basketball and advancing it up the floor. Defensively, we didn’t play bad. We were pretty stingy for the most part. But we want to hit the glass better than we did tonight, and we’ve got to finish better than we did tonight. From an effort standpoint I thought we played real hard.”

Junior Zoey Bershers utilized her 6-foot-3 frame to dominate the inside, but also showed her prowess outside with a trio of three-pointers. She finished with 12 points.

Sophomore Lexi Wallace led the Yellowjackets with 12 points.

Nashville 95, Forrest City 48

The Scaperettes (29-4) scrambled out to a 26-8 first-quarter lead, the extended it to a 43-point lead by halftime.

Junior Shalyn Lyle paced all scorers with a game-high 18 points, while her sister, Jessie Lyle, added 17, including 5 three-pointers.

Forrest City (28-8) actually outscored Nashville, 15-11, in the final period, after the Scrappers had cleared their bench for the majority of the second half.

--Steve Andrews | @SBLiveArk