FARMINGTON -- The Gravette (3-4, 0-1) girls' basketball team won Saturday in a big way, defeating Waldron, 53-32, to conclude their participation in the Tony Chachere's Classic held at Farmington's Cardinal Arena.
The game was decided early, with the Lady Lions jumping out to a 16-0 lead behind a ferocious full-court press. Freshman Cally Kildow had 5 points in the spurt, including a 3-pointer and a coast-to-coast layup. Junior Kyrstin Branscum added a 3-point play, scoring with an offensive rebound. Waldron's first point came five minutes into the contest on a free throw, and Waldon didn't score a single field goal until the final minute of the period. Gravette led 26-3 at the end of the first quarter.
The Lady Lions cooled off in the second and were outscored 8-5, but still led by a large margin of 31-11 at halftime. Kildow and Elizabeth Mckenzie hit 3-pointers in the third, keeping Gravette well out front. The score was 46-22 at the close of the period, allowing Gravette to cruise to a 53-32 win.
Kildow led the Lady Lions with 12 points. Rounding out the scoring were Bernice Garcia, 9; Tori Foster, 9; Mckenzie, 8; Branscum, 6; Jessica Bookout, 6; Hanna Graves, 2; and Stephanie Pinter, 1.
"We jumped on them (Waldron) early," said Gravette coach Will Pittman, expressing his approval of how the team responded with two starters missing.
One was taking an ACT, while the other was attending funeral services for Gravette sophomore Lane Killion, 15, who passed, Dec. 6, at his home following a battle with leukemia.
"There were a lot more hugs this week, the kids did a good job," Pittman said. "They really banded together and supported each other. Our girls here played hard every game."
Pittman said the school has received an overwhelming amount of support from the community.
"Our community is tremendous," he said.
Gravette 53, Waldron 32
Waldron^3^8^11^10^--^32
Gravette^26^5^15^7^--^53
A hockey statistic -- '0 shots on goal' loomed large in the first 3:17 of Friday's 64-48 loss to Huntsville for the Gravette girls' basketball team.
Neither did the Lady Lions have any penalty shots as hockey refers to them. Even with frigid temperatures moving into the region with a winter cold front, the Lady Lions weren't supposed to be playing hockey. The problem wasn't cold shooting, they simply weren't executing their offense. In basketball, a team that isn't getting off any shots at the goal nor free throw attempts can't score.
Gravette coach Will Pittman called time-out with a goose-egg on the scoreboard to get some sort of offense orchestrated. When play resumed, immediately 5-feet-8 freshman Cally Kildow drove the lane, firing up a running shot. Eighteen seconds later, she launched a 3-point attempt from the left wing. Neither shot scored, but the Lady Lions had served notice. Their offense was awake.
So was their defense. Huntsville lost possession and Kildow threw a cross-court pass to Tori Foster, who made a layup to get Gravette on the scoreboard with almost half of the first period gone by. Makayla Watkins answered for Huntsville with a 3-pointer at the other end. Kildow and Huntsville's Holly Anderson traded baskets before Foster drained a 3-pointer pulling Gravette within, 10-7, but the only score of the last two minutes belonged to Gentry Gosvener. She cranked up a trey for Huntsville and the Lady Eagles took a 13-7 lead into the second quarter.
Huntsville's inside-outside combination of Maci Campbell and Watkins produced throughout the game. Campbell scored a game-high 19 points and Watkins added 16. Kildow and Foster countered for Gravette with 16 and 14 points, respectively, but the Lady Lions couldn't overcome the rugged start against Huntsville and lost, 64-48.
Huntsville 64, Gravette 48
Huntsville^13^13^19^8^--^64
Gravette^6^13^14^7^--^48
Huntsville (1-0): Maci Campbell 5-14 3-4 18, Delanie Tipton 7-14 0-1 14, Courtney McCone 3-5 1-3 9. Makayla Watkins 1-7 2-4 5, Darian Sulffridge 1-1 1-3 4, Kathryn Walden 1-1 0-1 3, Gentry Gosvener 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-42 7-16 53.
3-Point Goals -- Huntsville 10-24 (Campbell 5-11, McCone 2-4, Sulffridge 1-1, Walden 1-1, Watkins 1-7), Gravette 4-20 (Bartholomew 1-10, Crawford 1-1, Madewell 1-2, Sapp 1-3, Grant 0-4, ). Fouled Out -- Sapp, Madewell. Rebounds-- Huntsville 30 (Tipton 17), Gravette 23 (Doering 12). Assists-- Huntsville 5 (Watkins 2), Gravette 6 (Bartholomew 3). Steals -- Huntsville 4 (McCone, Gosvener, Tipton, Walden), Gravette 2 (Bartholomew 2). Blocks -- Huntsville 1 (Gosvener), Gravette none. Turnovers -- Huntsville 7, Gravette 9. Total Fouls -- Huntsville, Gravette 18.
Sports on 12/14/2016