GRAVETTE -- Coming off an impressive win against Bentonville in the semifinals Wednesday, Siloam Springs' girls couldn't afford a letdown Thursday.
The Lady Panthers came out strong in the third quarter for the third consecutive night to build a double-digit lead and held off a strong Gravette charge for a 53-43 victory in the championship game of the Gravette Christmas Tournament.
"The girls just play hard," Siloam Springs coach Beau Tillery said.
"We knew coming into this one, specifically after a big win [Wednesday] -- a [Bentonville] team that beat them by 30 last year -- it would be an easy spot to have a letdown game. Gravette is as physical as it gets. I mean they just play so dang tough. We knew it would be a tough one but we scrapped and got it done."
Siloam Springs trailed 21-16 in the first half and finished on a 9-1 run to take a 25-22 lead at halftime.
Brooke Smith made a three-pointer to open the third quarter, and Brooke Ross followed with a three-pointer. After two free throws from Smith, Mimo Jacklik nailed a three-pointer from the corner as Siloam Springs went up 36-24.
The strong start to the third was on the heels of a 16-2 third quarter against Dover on Tuesday and an 11-4 surge against Bentonville on Wednesday.
The Lady Panthers led 41-31 going into the fourth.
Gravette Coach Will Pittman pointed to the start of the third quarter as the difference in the game.
"Siloam Springs hit three or four big shots, big threes, and they kind of just got us in a hole we couldn't completely get out of," Pittman said.
Gravette pulled within five twice in the fourth quarter on baskets by Brook Handle and Dalacie Wishon, but the Lady Lions (8-5) couldn't get easy closer.
Ross scored on a putback to get the lead back to 45-38, and Jacklik hit two free throws for a 47-38 lead with 2:57 left. Wishon cut the lead to 47-40 with a bucket, but Smith answered inside for Siloam Springs and Jacklik followed with a driving basket late to get the lead back to double digits.
Alex Parker led Gravette with 12 points, while Wishon had 10 and Brynn Romine nine.
"Our girls' effort was great," Pittman said. "We were bought in all night. I thought our intensity was good on both ends of the floor.
"Honestly, I thought we executed offensively and defensively as good as we have all year. We just had a lot of shots that didn't go down for us. Sometimes they don't. We executed the set plays at the end of quarters and got wide-open shots. Those girls hit them a lot of times. Some of them just didn't go down tonight. I thought it was a good game between two teams that clearly deserved to be in the finals against each other."
Jacklik led Siloam Springs with 15 points while Emily Keehn had 13, Ross 12, Smith nine and Anna Wleklinski four.
Siloam Springs 53, Gravette 43
Siloam Springs^10^15^16^12^--^53
Gravette^10^12^9^12^--^43
Siloam Springs (7-7): Jacklik 15, Keehn 13, Ross 12, Smith 9, Wleklinski 4.
Gravette (8-5): Parker 12, Wishon 11, Romine 9, Handle 8, Elsea 3.
Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader
The Gravette Lady Lions basketball team poses with the second place plaque after losing 53-43 to Siloam Springs in the championship game of the Gravette Christmas Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 29, at Lion Arena.
Gravette Lions Junior Brooke Handle (3) drives in during the girls championship game of the Gravette Christmas Classic between Siloam Springs and Gravett, December 29, 2022, at Lions Arena, Gravette, Arkansas (Special to NWA Democrat-Gazette/Brent Soule)
Gravette Lions Junior Brynn Romine (22) drives in as Siloam Springs Panthers Senior Mimo Jacklik (3) defends during the girls championship game of the Gravette Christmas Classic between Siloam Springs and Gravett, December 29, 2022, at Lions Arena, Gravette, Arkansas (Special to NWA Democrat-Gazette/Brent Soule)
Gravette Lions Junior Brooke Handle (3) goes up for a layup as Siloam Springs Panthers Senior Brooke Ross (44) defends during the girls championship game of the Gravette Christmas Classic between Siloam Springs and Gravett, December 29, 2022, at Lions Arena, Gravette, Arkansas (Special to NWA Democrat-Gazette/Brent Soule)
Siloam Springs Panthers Senior Brooke Ross (44) dumps to the outside during the girls championship game of the Gravette Christmas Classic between Siloam Springs and Gravett, December 29, 2022, at Lions Arena, Gravette, Arkansas (Special to NWA Democrat-Gazette/Brent Soule)
Gravette Lions head coach Will Pittman yells encouragement to his team during the girls championship game of the Gravette Christmas Classic between Siloam Springs and Gravett, December 29, 2022, at Lions Arena, Gravette, Arkansas (Special to NWA Democrat-Gazette/Brent Soule)