BENTON – A simplistic approach was all Cabot needed to move one step closer to making it back to a state title game Friday.

Akayla Barnard fired a no-hitter, but she got a great deal of support from her teammates as the Lady Panthers ran past Bentonville West 5-0 in the quarterfinals of the Class 6A state softball tournament at the Benton Athletic Complex.

"You can't win the last one if you don't get the first one, and that's how we looked at it," Cabot Coach Chris Cope said. "The first one in the tournament is always the toughest because you never know.