Gravette girls finish third

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

— Gravette’s girls basketball team is improving its status as post-season play continues.

The Lady Lions took the fourth seed in the 4A-1 District Tournament after finishing sixth in the regular-season standings. They did one step better Saturday afternoon, taking third place in the Class 4A North Region Tournament with a 62-41 victory over Gentry in George S. Jones Gymnasium.

Shyanne Nichols and Samantha VanOtterloo each had 20 points to lead Gravette (16-16), which will play at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Class 4A State Tournament in Heber Springs.

“I was proud of our girls and their work ethic,” Gravette coach Duane Thomas said. “We knew Gentry was a little beaten up, but I thought our girls played extremely well in the second half. Shyanneshot the ball well, and we had fun out there.”

The Lady Lions took control of the game with a 15-1 run in the second quarter. Nichols and VanOtterloo each hit a pair of 3-pointers during the outburst, which turned a 19-15 deficit into a 30-20 cushion after a Nichols 3-pointer with 3 minutes, 16 seconds remaining.

Gravette led 33-24 at half-time and opened the second half with nine straight points, with Kyndra Beeker’s lay-up extending the Lady Lions’ lead to a 42-24 margin. Gentry (21-10) didn’t get any closer than 48-38 on Terra Jones’ free throw with 6:27 left.

“Gravette just outplayed us,” Lady Pioneers coach Tim Rippy said. “They hit a bunch of shots. We took it to the hole a bunch, but we didn’t capitalize and didn’t finish.”

Courtney Millsap had nine points to lead Gentry, which plays at 1 p.m. Thursday in the Class 4A State Tournament.

Sports, Pages 9 on 03/02/2011