HOT SPRINGS — Salem (30-4) dominated the third quarter and turned a competitive first-half into a blowout in a 56-36 victory over Lamar (29-5) in the Class 3A girls state championship before 3,439 at Bank OZK Arena Saturday night.

Leading 30-23 at halftime, Salem outscored Lamar 19-8, holding the Lady Warriors to 1-of-9 shooting with 5 turnovers.

“The third quarter, we didn’t play well,” said Lamar head coach Brandon Schluterman. “A lot of what they were doing is they were sagging off and we hit the panic button a little bit and a lot of the adversity we’ve been facing caught up with us and that was my fault. All year, we had been a kick it out and drive team and they kept us from getting in close.”
