3A CHAMPIONSHIP GAME CAPSULES 2014

[BarclayAlmanac]

2014 CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
BOYS
CHARLESTON VS LR EPISCOPAL
Saturday, March 15, 12:45 p.m.
Summit Arena, Hot Springs

CHARLESTON TIGERS (31-5)
Head coach: B.J Ross
State championships: (0) none
Road to the Summit: Won the 3A-4 District Tournament, won the Class 3A Region 1 Tournament, and beat Valley Springs, Mayflower and Benton Harmony Grove in the state tournament
Fearless Facts: Charleston is playing in its second state championship game in three years, losing in 2012. ... Matthew Ward scored 82 points in three state tournament games for the Tigers, including 41 in the second round. ... Andrew Smith and Ty Storey also averaged double-digits in the state tournament, scoring 37 and 31 points, respectively. ... Charleston was 66 of 100 from the free-throw line in the state tournament. ... Ross is in his 11th year at Charleston after beginning his coaching career at Plainview.

LR EPISCOPAL WILDCATS (28-3)
Head coach: Micah Marsh
State championships: (0) none
Road to the Summit: Won the 3A-5 District Tournament, won the Class 3A Region 2 Tournament, and beat Prescott, Rivercrest and McGehee in the state tournament
Fearless Facts: Episcopal is playing in its second straight championship game, losing to Harding Academy, 45-40, last year ... Episcopal won its three state tournament games all by double-digits and by an average of 24.3 points per game. ... Episcopal hit 57 of 91 free throws in the state tournament. ... Four players scored in double digits in the semifinal win; Kelvin Robinson, Mahon Martin, Allie Freeman, and William Pollack. ... Robinson scored 65 points in three state tournament games while Martin poured in 60.


2014 CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
GIRLS
ESTEM VS HARDING ACADEMY
Friday, March 14, 5:15 p.m.
Summit Arena, Hot Springs

ESTEM LADY METS (29-6
Head coach: Johnecia Howard
State championships: (0) none
Road to the Summit: Finished second in the 3A-5 District Tournament, finished third in the Class 3A Region 2 Tournament, and defeated McGehee, Rivercrest and Paris in the state tournament
Fearless Facts: The Mets are playing in their first state championship game. ... eSTEM beat Harding Academy, 41-36, in the third place game of the Class 3A Region 2 Tournament at Benton Harmony Grove. ... eSTEM is a public charter school, specializing in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. ... The Mets beat two regional champions in the state tournament, defeating Rivercrest, 58-53, in the second round and Paris, 56-54, in the semifinals. ... Olivia McWilliams scored 71 points in the state tournament, including 26 in the first round, 21 in the second and 24 in the semifinals.

HARDING ACADEMY LADY WILDCATS (24-8)
Head coach: Rusty Garner
State championships: (1) 2004
Road to the Summit: Finished second in the 3A-2 District Tournament, finished fourth in the Class 3A Regional 2 Tournament, and beat Fordyce, Melbourne and Riverview in the state tournament.
Fearless Facts: Harding Academy is playing in its second state championship game. ... Harding Academy beat two regional champs in the state tournament, downing Fordyce and Riverview. ... The Lady Wildcats defense was great in the three state tournament games at Charleston, allowing just 34 field goals and 100 points or just 8.3 points per quarter. ... Garner is in his 7th year as head coach at Harding Academy and is 142-67.

[WPWells]

The fact on Coach Ross is a little misleading. He has coached at Charleston for 11 years, but the first 9 he was the girls coach. He then became an assistant principal at Van Buren for three years before coming back to Charleston to coach the boys. This is only his second season as boys coach

Also, ECS appeared in the state championship last year