GRAVETTE -- It was a bittersweet end to the regular season as family, friends and Lion fans gathered in the competition gym in Gravette on Feb. 10. to see Elizabeth McKenzie and Stephanie Pinter play their final home game as Lady Lions.
Before the start of the girls' game against the Greenland Lady Pirates, the departing seniors from the boys' and girls' basketball teams, cheerleaders, team managers and pep band members were honored during the senior night celebration. Each senior was escorted to center court by family members or friends. After the entourage was recognized one final time, the spectators in the bleachers acknowledged their accomplishments with a standing ovation. Then it was time to hit the court for the final game of the regular season.
The Lady Lions scored first early in the first quarter. They built a 16-12 lead going into the start of the second. The Lady Pirates caught up in the final minute and cut Gravette's lead to one going into the halftime break.
In the second half, the Lady Pirates took control of the contest and began building a commanding lead over the Lady Lions. Gravette regained its composure midway through the final quarter to cut the lead to five with 70 seconds left to play. For the next 50 seconds, both teams hit matching points to bring the score to 63-58. With only 18 seconds left, the Lady Lions hit another two-pointer, closing the gap to three. Time expired before Gravette could put up another shot, giving Greenland the 63-60 win.
The Lady Lions closed the regular season with an 18-10 overall record and 14-4 4A District 1 mark. In spite of the loss to Greenland, which was a nonconference game, the Lady Lions finished the season in first place going into the district tournament.
"It was a hard-fought game between two good teams. But Greenland played a little better than we did tonight," said Will Pittman, Lady Lions' coach. "I was proud of the girls' overall efforts. We were down by 14 with five minutes to play when they started to catch up. But they came up a little short in the end. This was a good game to get us ready for the district tournament next week."
Gravette will play Prairie Grove at 4 p.m. today in the second round of the district tournament at Berryville.
Sports on 02/15/2017