Leopards, Lady Leopards set for rivalry hoops in A-town; fall short to Ashdown
Lady Leopard trio Johnson drops 20, Cooper post in double-figures with Weaver contributing vs. Ashdown
ASHDOWN — In two tough match-ups on the road down south Friday in conference hoops, the hometown Malvern Leopards and Lady Leopards came up short of victories against Ashdown for their first of two season meetings in league contention. The Leopards fought hard, but fell short in a 54-42 defeat against the Ashdown Panthers in senior high boys hoops. The Leopards remain with their lone conference win against De Queen—looking to snap their losing skid for another two-game road trip this week.
For the Lady Leopards, their match-up against a winless Ashdown Lady Panthers’ squad created a competitive contest on the court in Ashdown. The Lady Leopards hung tough and close, but unfortunately, Ashdown prevailed for a 40-33 score against Malvern. The Lady Panthers capture their first conference win, while the Lady Leopards remain hungry for their hunt to break into the win column. Despite the tough loss, the Lady Leopard trio of Ayanna Johnson, Chasney Cooper and Kailey Weaver accounted for the scoring spark of execution for Malvern. Johnson led all scorers with a game-high 20 points as the overall top performer on the court—cooper followed with 10 points for consecutive performances in double-figures—weaver finished with three points to contribute to the scoring department for the hometown lady hoopsters. Johnson also sank a triple from downtown beyond the arc to showcase some shooting spark for
Malvern on the road.
UP NEXT
Tonight, the hometown hoopsters are set for two rivalry showdowns in Clark County as the Leopards and Lady Leopards travel to A-town for the first of two season meeting match-ups in conference play against the Arkadelphia Fighting Badgers and Lady Badgers at AHS Gymnasium.
It’s always a big night when Malvern and Arkadelphia meet on the hardwood with the intense emotion of pride ready to take place in battle between these two close communities.