GRAVETTE — Gravette scored its final 16 points from the free throw line and Sydney Hicks led three players in double figures with 22 points as the Lady Lions defeated Pea Ridge, 65-59, in a 4A-1 Conference game Tuesday night.
Gravette made 16 of 20 free throws the final 5 minutes, 4 seconds of the game and the Lady Lions held Pea Ridge to just two points the final 2:02 of the game after Avery Dayberry hit a 3-pointer to give the Lady Blackhawks a 57-56 lead.
"Free throws were big," said Gravette coach Will Pittman. "We were not solid defensively for a large part of the game. But we challenged them to win each defensive possession late, and we came away with some big rebounds and we made free throws at the end. Any win in this conference is a big win."
Dayberry led Pea Ridge with 22 points and the junior scored 13 points in the fourth period. Gravette (9-6, 2-1 4A-1) led 56-50 with 2:34 left but Dayberry hit four free throws and a 3-pointer to give the Lady Blackhawks a 57-56 lead. But Pea Ridge would make just 1-of-8 field goal attempts the rest of the way as the Lady Lions pulled away.
Pea Ridge turned the ball over 25 times, including 16 in the first half as Gravette took a 31-24 lead. Jennifer Anthony added 15 points for Pea Ridge (8-8, 1-2) while Laura Socha finished with 10.
"We couldn't make a layup and we refused to go to the hoop," said Pea Ridge coach Larry Walker. "We just made bad decisions and we threw the ball to them at will."
Boys
Pea Ridge 73, Gravette 64
Britton Caudill scored a game-high 31 points and Cole Wright added 16 points as Pea Ridge defeated Gravette.
Pea Ridge (12-3, 2-1) led 33-26 at halftime and the Blackhawks used a 15-3 run in the third period en route to a 56-38 lead going to the fourth period. Wright scored seven points during the run while Caudill added four points.
"Britton is an incredible player," said Pea Ridge coach Trent Loyd. "He is one of the more underrated players in the area. Britton is capable of doing that because he is so skilled."
Pea Ridge led 20-12 at the end of the first period but Gravette (7-7, 1-2) tied the game at 22-22 on a basket by Camron Johnson. But Caudill would score six points during an 8-1 Pea Ridge run and a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer by Joey Hall gave the Blackhawks a 33-26 lead.
Jackson Soule led four Gravette players in double figures with 21 points. Kyle Fox and Trace Crawford both finished with 14 points for the Lions while Dayton Wishon finished with 10.
4A-1 Conference
Girls
Gravette 65, Pea Ridge 59
Pea Ridge 8 16 17 18 — 59
Gravette 13 18 11 23 — 65
Pea Ridge (8-8, 1-2): Dayberry 22, Anthony 15, Socha 10, Whatley 6, Fletcher 4, Olson 2.
Gravette (9-6, 2-1): Hicks 22, Branscum 14, Foster 10, A. Pinter 7, S. Pinter 4, Chalk 4, Garcia 2, Walker 2.
Boys
Pea Ridge 73, Gravette 64
Pea Ridge 20 13 23 17 — 73
Gravette 12 14 12 26 — 64
Pea Ridge (12-3, 2-1): Caudill 31, Wright 16, Church 7, Holtgrewe 7, Beard 4, Hall 4, Beckmann 4.
Gravette (7-7, 1-1): Soule 21, Fox 14, Crawford 14, Wishon 10, Johnson 2, Trembly 2, Fink 1.
Kyrstin Branscum added 14 points for the Lady Lions while Tori Foster finished with 10 points. Branscum scored 12 of her 14 points from the free throw line, including making 7 of 8 in the fourth period. Gravette was 26-of-35 from the line in the game.