Lady Pioneers lose heartbreaker to Lady Panthers

GENTRY -- Brooke Ross hit two free throws to take a one-point lead, and Siloam Springs held on over the final seconds to defeat Gentry, 50-49, in Gentry on Nov. 29.

Gentry's Alyssa McCarty hit a 3-pointer in the corner to give the Lady Pioneers a 49-48 lead and Siloam Springs inbounded the ball and called timeout with 13.2 seconds left.

Out of the timeout, the Lady Panthers quickly got the ball to Ross. She was fouled and calmly sank two free throws.

After Ross gave the Lady Panthers the lead, Gentry inbounded the ball and got past halfcourt, and called timeout with 2.7 seconds left. The Lady Pioneers' final shot hit the side of the backboard as the Lady Panthers picked up their first win under coach Beau Tillery.

"Just thankful to get that monkey off our back and get a win," Tillery said. "We knew our nonconference would be tough; however, we couldn't really anticipate the injuries and sickness that would hit us at the worst time. We have had our top 10 (players) healthy and all practicing twice in the last month. So it's been a grind."

Siloam Springs (1-4) led 12-8 after the first quarter and 26-12 at halftime.

Gentry coach Toby Tevebaugh was ejected in the second half of the game.

The Lady Panthers built up a large lead in the third quarter, only for Gentry to rally and cut it to 39-27 going into the fourth quarter.

Ross and Emily Keehn each scored 15 points to lead Siloam Springs, while Brooke Smith had nine, Mimo Jacklik seven and Anna Wleklinski and Faith Ellis each with two.

McCarty led Gentry with 25 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter. Kaitlyn Caswell had 13.