Lady Beavers finish historic hoops year with overall No. 4 ranking in state for Class 3A

GLEN ROSE — Following an historic year of hoops, the Glen Rose Lady Beavers claimed the No. 4 overall ranking in state for Class 3A girls basketball in the final season poll of the Arkansas Sports Media High School Basketball Rankings released this week.

The Lady Beavers made history in their senior high girls basketball program as state tournament qualifiers for the first time since 1985—surging to a final four appearance in the semifinal round.

First year senior high girls basketball head coach Devin Jones with assistant coach Kirby Armstrong guided the Lady Beavers to one of their best overall seasons for a 25-9 overall record—finishing

conference runner-up at 11-3, district tournament runner-up, regional tournament qualifiers for a third place finish to claim the No. 3 seed in the Class 3A state tournament.

The Lady Beavers fell short to No. 1 seed and state tournament champion Salem in their semifinal match-up hosted in Lamar.

Salem claimed the out-right No. 1 ranking in state by defeating state runner-up Lamar in the Class 3A girls state finals at the Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs.

Lamar finishes as the No. 2 ranked team, while Bergman takes the No. 3 spot and Harding Academy claims the No. 5 ranking .

The Lady Beavers’ were led by a senior core of hoopsters that helped ignite a strong run to its first postseason appearance in 38 years. The standout Ashlee Stafford, who led the team in scoring, along with Makayla Stevens, Sydney Riggan, Ariany Sanchez, and sharp shooter Maci Carver took command and charge to surge the Lady Beavers to their impressive year on the hardwood—all earning postseason accolades and honors.

Also seniors Alexis Perryman, CJ Mccullough and Allie Bell fulfilled their roles as team leaders during the journey.

The difference maker and sixth man sophomore Zavery May stepped up in a productive way to provide a lift in the team’s success during the postseason that included showcasing top-notch performance in the state tournament coming off the bench.

Overall, the Lady Beavers produced one of the best finishes in the history of the senior high girls basketball program led by head coach Devin Jones.

Jones stated about this overachieving Lady Beavers team, “One of the toughest (physically and mentally) teams I’ve ever coached.”

He added, “I really respect their work ethic and willingness to put in extra time outside of practice. They represented their school and community extremely well and should be proud of how well they performed.”