Shirey, Herrell lead teams to road wins

Farmington’s ability to string together points is a primary reason it is 21-1 on the season.

The Gravette Lady Lions were trying to stay close on Friday, but the Lady Cardinals went on a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter to defeat them 63-43. Farmington’s surge was led by senior guard Reese Shirey, who made 3 threepoint field goals during the 14-0 blitz. Shirey finished with 19 points for Farmington, which is ranked No. 2 in the girls overall poll.

For her effort, Shirey is the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette girls Player of the Week.

Gravette was hoping for a comeback on its home court after closing to with 45-33 of Farmington at the outset of the fourth quarter. But the Lady Lions were denied by Shirey, whose third three-pointer in the surge gave the Lady Cardinals a 5933 cushion. Shirey contributes 4.7 rebounds per game and she leads the team in deflections and charges taken.

“Reese is a tremendous competitor, a tireless worker and a consummate student of the game,” Farmington Coach Brad Johnson said. “Her energy is infectious and she makes plays on both ends of the floor that directly impact winning. She stuffs the stat sheet every game and you know as a coach that she is going to bring a level of toughness every single day that makes your team better.”

The defeat was the first in 4A-1 Conference play for Gravette, which is 13-5 overall.

“I finally felt like we settled down in the fourth quarter,” Shirey said. “Emotions were high in the first half, but in the fourth quarter we finally got into our groove.”

The atmosphere was also charged at Wolverine Arena in Centerton, where Fort Smith Southside defeated Bentonville West 66-62. The Mavericks (5-8, 1-3) won their first 6A-West Conference game behind the play of George Herrell, who scored 21 points to help them rebound from a loss earlier in the week to Rogers Heritage.

Herrell of Fort Smith

Southside is the NWADG boys Player of the Week.

Herrell made five of his seven three-pointers in the second half against the Wolverines. His final basket was initially thought to be a game-winner. But a book-keeping error had added three points to West’s total, making a one-point win a four-point win.

“After a blistering 43-point first half for us, we began to struggle in the second half,” Southside Coach Stewart Adams said. “George kept us going with three consecutive threes in the third quarter, and then, of course, the final three at the buzzer. George is a guy you want to take that shot. He doesn’t consider the pressure. He just lets it go.”