GENTRY — Tara Arnold’s teammates carried her off the court Tuesday night. It wasn’t on their shoulders, but it might as well have been.
Gentry defeated Gravette 67-64 in overtime, and Arnold’s 17 points and ability to play the final quarterplus with four fouls was a big part of it.
She didn’t make the game-winning basket - that honor went to senior Kaylin Cripps, whose lay-up with 16 seconds remaining gave Gentry a 65-64 edge - but on the ensuing inbound pass, Arnold, a 5-foot-8 junior, dove to steal the ball, came down wrong on her left ankle, but fought through the pain to give the Lady Pioneers (5-13, 3-4 4A-1) one more bucket.
Gravette (6-10, 2-5) had an opportunity to tie the game just before the final buzzer sounded as Shyanne Nichols - who scored a game-high 21 points - got an open look from 21 feet away, but it bounced off the back iron.
Lady Lions girls’ basketball coach Will Pittman chalked his team’s loss up to nothing more than not making plays.
Playing hurt is nothing new for Arnold, whose black eye made her easy to recognize early in the season. Toughness has never been anything Gentry coach Tim Rippy had questioned in his forward. However her aggressiveness has, and during the past three games, Arnold has answered, totaling 60 points in wins against Ozark, Berryville and Gravette.
“She’s posted up some and has been shooting the ball well, so she’s a tough match up for the other team,” Rippy said. “She showed she could still play aggressive with four fouls by attacking the rim.”
Rounding out the first half of 4A-1 Conference play with a three-game winning streak has Rippy feeling good, especially since before last Tuesday, Gentry had only two wins all season.
With a chance to play every conference opponent one more time, Gentry, which has only two seniorson its roster, is looking forward to the rematches serving as measuring sticks.
“We go to Farmington on Friday and that will be a good test for us to see how far we’ve come since the last time we played them,” Rippy said.
Farmington won the season’s previous match up on Dec. 15 by 18 points.
BOYS GRAVETTE 70 GENTRY 45
Gentry was able to hang tough for a half, but the hot shooting by Gravette’s guards was something the Pioneers defense couldn’t combat.
Gravette junior guard Matthew VanOtterloo scored a game-high 17 points, all of which came in the first three quarters, as the Lions bench was able to see significant playing time in the fourth.
“It was important for us to get some of the younger players time,” Gravette coach Dustin Peters said. “They practice hard and needed to get in and play.”
Chris Wiand led Gentry with 14 points. Dusty Haag added 12.
Sports, Pages 9 on 01/25/2012