Bentonville Coach Tom Halbmaier got a little choked up when describing just how much Saturday's victory over Conway meant to his Lady Tigers, but for him, it was more about the journey.

"When you get my age, it's just great to get there," said Halbmaier, whose team is heading to the Class 6A state championship game for the second year in a row. "But to watch the kids work all year long to get back to this point is a special feeling."

There are several coaches involved in this week's high school basketball state finals who can relate to Halbmaier. Of the 24 teams set to play for titles, eight are back for the second consecutive season. For teams such as Little Rock Central and Conway, the road just to get to Hot Springs wasn't a smooth one to navigate.

Central (18-12) and Conway (21-8) were the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, respectively, from the 6A-Central Conference. The Tigers endured three-game losing streaks three separate times during the regular season, while the Wampus Cats had to replace nine seniors from a team that was one of the favorites to win the championship last year. Both have caught fire at just the right time.

"The 14-game gauntlet in our conference ... if you can just survive and get in the tournament somehow, you've got a chance," Conway Coach Brian "Salty" Longing said. "You're looking at a four and five seed in the finals. I'm just glad that we finally get a day off."

Viola (39-2) and Kirby (38-5) will play for the Class 1A girls state title at noon Thursday at Bank OZK Arena to kick off the three-day, 12-game weekend. The Lady Longhorns and Lady Trojans finished No. 1 and No. 2 in its class prior to the start of the state tournament. Defending 1A boys champion, Izard County (39-5) and Nevada (33-6) will follow at 1:45 p.m. in a rematch of last year's final. Those two also were 1-2 in Class 1A before state play began.

The format for this year's finals is different from years past. Instead of games being played one after the other throughout, the Arkansas Activities Association has announced that there will be two sessions per day. After Izard County's game with Nevada, the arena will be cleared. Doors will reopen at 5 p.m. to begin the day's second session where defending Class 2A girls champion Melbourne (33-2) faces Quitman (30-2) at 6 p.m. in another game between teams that were No. 1 and No. 2 ahead of last week's postseason tournament. The final contest of the session features Earle (21-9) and reigning Class 2A boys champion England (29-5) at 7:45 p.m.

That same rotation will continue Friday with the Class 3A girls title game between defending champion Mountain View (27-5) and Valley Springs (36-7) launching the third session at noon. Session 4 commences at 6 p.m. with the Class 4A girls championship game between Star City (31-0) and Farmington (32-3), both of which were ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in its class during the postseason.

Session 5 begins Saturday at 11:30 a.m. with Greenwood (25-5) and Nettleton (27-5) for the 5A girls state title, and Session 6 opens with Fayetteville (23-5) and Bentonville (27-1) for the 6A girls crown at 6 p.m.

There will be instant replay available in the championship games. If needed, the final shot in any of the 12 games, whether it be a two-point or a three-point attempt, could be reviewed with the use of cameras from the Arkansas PBS television broadcast.

Sports on 03/09/2020
