Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Eyes on the hoop
Pea Ridge senior Allisa Short (left) eyes the basket while Prairie Grove’s Zoe Hubbs defends Tuesday during the 4A-1 Conference Tournament at Prairie Grove. Pea Ridge won 45-39. Visit nwaonline.com/200218Daily/ for more images.
PRAIRIE GROVE — Pea Ridge relied on defense to beat Prairie Grove for the third time this season.
Pea Ridge held Prairie Grove to two field goals in the second half and defeated the Lady Tigers 45-39 Tuesday in the 4A-1 Conference Tournament at Tiger Arena. Allisa Short provided the bulk of the offense with 16 points for Pea Ridge (20-7), which advanced to play Berryville at 4 p.m. today.
“Any time you play a team three times in a year it’s always tough, especially after you’ve beaten them twice,” Pea Ridge coach Heath Neal said. “Anything can happen in postseason, so I’m really proud of my kids. They prepared the right way and, hopefully, it’s a long week for us.”
Huntsville beat Gentry 52-39 in the other girls game Tuesday while Prairie Grove rallied to defeat Harrison 54-48 in a boys game. Pea Ridge and Berryville girls will begin today’s action at 4 p.m., followed by a boys game between Prairie Grove and Huntsville at 5:30 p.m. The Gravette girls will face Huntsville at 7 p.m. and the
Farmington boys will play the Berryville vs. Gravette winner at 8:30 p.m.
Short made three 3-pointers and went 5 of 6 from the free-throw line to lead Pea Ridge, which defeated Prairie Grove 41-37 nearly two weeks ago. The Lady Blackhawks also defeated Prairie Grove 4826 in January.
“(Short) is my only senior and we know she can shoot the basketball,” Neal said. “She had a good night from the 3-point line and getting to the basket.”
Blakelee Winn contributed eight points for Pea Ridge, which has won at least 20 games for the second consecutive season.
“This is our fourth year together and its’ been a maturation process,” Heath said. “To win 20 games in a year, especially in our conference, is quite an accomplishment. But it’s what we do in the postseason that we want to be measured.”
Prairie Grove stayed close for nearly three quarters Tuesday with Torie Price directing the offense and Jasmine Wynos adding points and rebounds underneath. But the shots quit falling and the turnovers increased in the third quarter when Pea Ridge eased to a 41-30 lead. Prairie Grove (10-17) did not make a field goal in the third quarter when the Lady Tigers scored six points all on free throws. Freshman Ella Faulk made two baskets off the bench in the fourth quarter for the only two field goals in the second half for Prairie Grove.
Wynos finished with 13 points and Price 10 for Prairie Grove, which has no seniors on its roster. Price had 10 points and Wynos seven at halftime when Prairie Grove only trailed 30-24.