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QUITMAN — It’s been a long time since Sloan-Hendrix last played in a girls basketball state final.
The same can’t be said for Quitman, at least for comparison’s sake.
The two teams are set to duke it out in the Class 2A state championship game Thursday at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs.
It’ll mark the third time Sloan-Hendrix (34-3) has appeared in the title game, but it’s been 34 seasons since the team’s previous trip in 1993. The Lady Greyhounds also gained a berth in the title game in 1987, but both appearances resulted in runner-up finishes.
The wait hasn’t been nearly as lengthy for Quitman (35-2), which last played for a title in 2020. But the Lady Bulldogs did win a championship in 2017 before coming up short in the 2018 final.
Still, Quitman Coach Tim Hooten acknowledged that his team’s latest trip to Hot Springs has been a long time coming.
“I think we’re going to have a great crowd down there because it’s been a while,” he said. “We’ve been there a few times, but people were ready for us to get back. Last year, we made the final four. You know, we’re always right there in the hunt, but we had a stretch where weren’t able to get back to Hot Springs.
“That’s where the big dance is.”
The trek to Hot Springs seems fitting for the Lady Bulldogs because they’ve been dancing past their competition all season.
Quitman hasn’t lost to a team from its class this season and is currently on a 21-game winning streak. The last time the Lady Bulldogs tasted defeat was Dec. 29, 2025 when Harding Academy beat them 47-41. Since then, they’ve dominated the majority of their opponents.
During its run, only four teams have stayed within single digits of Quitman.
“We’ve been playing well, but to be honest, we’ve had a lot of adversity this year,” Hooten said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries. Paislee Davis, she’d been out until that Beebe Tournament (in December). Of course in that same tournament, we lost Ava Sullivan after she went down with a knee (injury) that caused her to miss five weeks.
“Sickness got us some, too. We’ve had games where we’ve had to play with six girls. Just a lot of adversity, but we found a way to pick up some big wins.”
Hooten also mentioned that some have questioned the overall difficulty of the Lady Bulldogs’ schedule, but that negative talk was nullified during the state tournament.
“Three teams in our conference were in the final eight,” he said with a laugh. “So I’ll argue that talk about us not playing a tough schedule all day long. We played nine teams outside of our conference, and they were all in the state tournament of their respective classes.
“So we don’t duck competition. We’ve played a great schedule while dealing with some adversity, so I think we’re ready for this game.”
Although Quitman hasn’t faced Sloan-Hendrix this season, the teams are fairly familiar with each other. They were members of the same conference during the previous cycle.
“It wasn’t like there was a surprise coming with them,” Hooten said of the Lady Greyhounds. “We knew they were going to be good. We played in the junior high championship against that group, so we know what they’ve got. But on the other hand, they know what we’ve got, too.
“So I don’t think any of us are going to come out with any big surprises.”
Hooten pointed out that Sloan-Hendrix’s three-point shooting has been impressive all season, and it’s something his team will have to combat when they tip off at 6 p.m. Thursday.
He also said he believes the Lady Bulldogs are going to have to continue to bear down overall if they’re going to knock off a Lady Greyhound squad that’s looking to win its first state championship.
“We’re going to have to continue to play defense the way we’ve done all year,” Hooten said. “We’ve got to hit free throws. Man, we shot 33% from the free-throw line the other night, and that’s very atypical of this team. If we can get those things done, we’ll be in the hunt.”
