GRAVETTE -- The Lady Lions came from behind and brought home a big win in their game against the Lady Blackhawks of Pea Ridge on Friday night, 51-46.
It looked like Pea Ridge would take the game on its basketball colors day night, outscoring Gravette two to one in the opening quarter, 14-7. But that all changed in the second quarter, with the Lady Lions picking up a big 22 points and a 29-22 lead by the half.
It was looking close again by the end of the third, with the Gravette girls up by a single point, and things looked even worse in the final quarter of play. The Lady Lions were down by as much as six points in the fourth and did not score until there was only 3:30 left in the game, but they rallied in the end for a five-point win on the road.
GIRLS
Gravette 7 22 10 12 51
(12-10, 5-5)
Pea Ridge 14 8 16 8 46
(3-12, 2-8)
Gravette - Foster 18, Branscum 12, Hicks 8, A. Pinter 6, S. Pinter 4,
Kardynalski 3
Pea Ridge - Fletcher 14, Socha 14, Dayberry 8, Anthony 4, Whatley 4, Olson 2
Tori Foster was 13-16 from the free-throw line.
Prairie Grove 42
Gravette 36
In Prairie Grove on Jan. 26, the Lady Lions had success slowing down the Lady Tigers by switching between a 2-1-2 and a 3-2 zone defense. They limited Prairie Grove to 19 percent shooting (9 of 47) from the floor, including just one field goal in 20 attempts from inside the arc. But it wasn't quite enough and the Prairie Grove Lady Tigers won, 42-36.
"We prepared really well and I thought we executed our defensive game plan pretty well," said Gravete coach Will Pittman. "We kind of stuck with the 2-3 (zone) late because we were having success with it."
Gravette had a chance to even the score at 37, but a three-point attempt rimmed out with about a minute remaining. The Lady Lions overcame an early six-point deficit to tie the score at 11-all at the end of the first quarter, but scored just three points in the second quarter as Prairie Grove pulled ahead 22-14.
"We were just passive early in the game on offense ... We kind of waited to get aggressive until the last five minutes of the game," Pittman said. "If we can get one or two of those (shots) to fall late, then it's a different game. But then we had to foul them and they hit their free throws."
Boys
Gravette 42, Prairie Grove 36
Trailing by five points with under a minute to play in regulation, Prairie Grove got five offensive rebounds on a single possession, but was unable to capitalize as the Lions held off a late rally attempt to win. Gravette's Kyle Fox scored 11 of his game-high 17 points and hit three free throws in the fourth quarter to help secure the victory.
Mike Capshaw contributed to this report.
Girls
Prairie Grove 42, Gravette 36
Gravette^11^3^10^12^--^36
Prairie Grove^11^11^12^8^--^42
Gravette (11-10, 4-5): Foster 10, Hicks 8, Branscum 7, A. Pinter 6, Kardynalski 3, S. Pinter 2.
Prairie Grove (16-3, 9-0): M. Hartin 20, Lopez 11, Doss 6, T. Hartin 2, Vinson 2, Bartholomew 1.
Boys
Gravette 42, Prairie Grove 36
Gravette^13^12^8^9^--^42
Prairie Grove^6^11^7^12^--^36
Gravette (10-10, 4-5): Fox 17, Crawford 10, Wilson 7, Trembly 4, Childress 2, Soule 2, Pierce 1.
Prairie Grove (3-16, 2-8): Soehner 8, Heltemes 7, Ellis 5, Cooper 4, Disney 3, Laird 3, Pearson 3, Simmons 2, Johnson 1.
Sports on 02/03/2016