1A girls basketball state championship: Dominant performance brings home West Side's first championship in 30 years

The West Side Eagles are state champs for the first time since 1995

Tommy Land

It took 30 years for the second one, but West Side (Greers Ferry) is now two for two all-time in state championship games after throttling Earle 63-49 in the 1A girls state championship game at Bank OZK Arena Saturday night.

The Eagles (41-3) took a 28-16 lead into halftime and never looked back. Junior Ashlyn Cossey was named the 1A state tournament's Most Valuable Player. Cossey finished tonight's contest with a double-double, 22 points and 14 rebounds, plus four asssits. Kately Cornett added 16 points on 8 of 15 shooting with three rebounds and three assists. Earle guard Jada Maples was quitely the game's leading scorer with an impressive 31 points, plus had a solid 20 rebounds in a double-double performance.

West Side's length caused problems for Earle (29-8) all night as the Bulldogs were outrebounded by the Eagles 54 to 37. The Eagles also outdid the Bulldogs on points in the paint 42 to 24.

Pregame

For essentially all season, Earle and West Side have been Class 1A's top two teams, and they will battle it out for a championship — again, for the second time in the past two weeks ... but this time, it will be for the ultimate prize.

West Side (40-3) defeated Earle 53-46 in the 1A-2 Regional Championship game on the Eagles' home court March 1.

West Side is not your typical Class 1A team as head coach Keith Cornett gave his squad multiple tough tests during the nonconference slate that included 6A semifinalist North Little Rock, 5A quarterfinalist Nettleton, 4A finalist Pulaski Academy, plus multiple other matchups against higher classifications.

West Side is looking for its first championship since 1995, the last time the program got this far.

The Eagles already had some talent on the roster, but when Cornett came over from Concord, his alma mater, he brought his daughter, junior Kately Cornett (15.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.5 apg) and Kately's classmate Ashlyn Cossey (13.3 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 3.2 apg), and he added senior Addie Overturff (6.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.8 apg) from Shirley. All have received college interest, as have the Eagles' other two in the starting lineup: sophomores Lainee Gentry (7.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.5 apg) and Eden Murphree (6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1 apg).

Along with Rural Special in the state semifinal round, Earle (29-7) was the only 1A squad which stayed within single digits when playing West Side. The Bulldogs also played a very tough nonconference schedule, including Pulaski Academy, 5A finalist Greene County Tech and multiple higher-classification squads.

Earle is 2 for 2 in state championship games, bringing home gold trophies in 2016 and 2018.

While the Bulldogs might not have the depth West Side does, their back court that features sophomore Journey Jefferson and junior Jada Maples is one of the best in the state regardless of classification. Jefferson, the daughter of head coach Steve Jefferson, is averaging 21.5 points, 9.4 assists and 2. 5 rebounds per game, and Maples, Journey Jefferson's cousin, averages a double-double with 24.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest, plus 6.5 assists.

Maples has multiple Division I offers, and Journey Jefferson has an offer from Arkansas State. Jefferson and Maples have more than 1,000 career points. Sophomore Madison Dunn also has been a top contributor, averaging 11.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

(Updates will appear here after the game starts.)

Final: West Side 63-49

West Side wins its first state championship since 1995 in a dominant perfromance.

Fourth quarter

West Side 61-43, 2:18

Following two successful free throws by Jefferson, Earle calls time.

West Side 53-37, 6:34

Jefferson connects on a three from the left wing. The Bulldogs have a lot of work to do but are not going away as Bulldogs Coach Steve Jefferson calls time.

Third quarter

End of 3rd: West Side 49-27

Lainee Gentry swishes a deep three and the Eagles are in full control eight minutes away from a championship.

West Side 40-27, 2:49

Earle has shot better in the second half, but the Eagles keep trying to pull away. Cossey and Kately Cornett are each in double figures for West Side with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Media timeout.

West Side 31-18, 6:21

Earle started off the quarter strong with a quick two by Journey Jefferson, but that has been all thus far as Eagles Coach Keith Cornett calls time. There was some confusion about the foul count for West Side prior to the TO.

Halftime: West Side 28-16

The Eagles take the double-digit lead into the break. West Side is up to 32% from the field, while Earle is at 15%. Cossey leads all scorers with 12, followed by Maples with 11. West Side is also owning the paint with 14 points down low to Earle's four.

Second quarter

West Side 23-11, 3:03

Shots are beginning to fall for West Side as they are pulling away. Earle is still having a tough time getting shots to fall.

West Side 19-9, 5:15

Two successful free throws by Whitley Goodson gives the Eagles a double-digit lead.

First quarter

End of 1st: West Side 11-4

The Eagles lead after one, but both teams are off to a slow shooting start. West Side is hitting 24% of its shots from the field, while Earle is sturggling at 7% (1 of 15).

West Side 6-4, 3:20

Jada Maples hits two free throws to give the Bulldogs their first points in over two minutes.

West Side 6-2, 4:19

Cossey dishes to Addie Overturff under the basket for a layup and Earle takes the first timeout of the night.

Tied at 2, 5:29

Ashlyn Cossey gets a layup for the game's first points, then Earle's Aryana Perry answers to tie it.

We are underway!

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