Lady Tigers Grind Out Win

PRAIRIE GROVE GIRLS IMPROVE TO 8-0 IN CONFERENCE

GRAVETTE — Even with their most touted player having an off night, the Prairie Grove Lady Tigers (15-4, 8-0) are still a force to be reckoned with.

On Friday, Prairie Grove dispatched the Gravette Lions, 48- 34, to remain unbeaten in 4A-1 play.

With All- State player Justyne Huber scoring only 3 points and spending the majority of the contest on the bench, the Tigers needed someone to take up the offensive slack.

That someone was Whitnee Fitts, who scored a game high 18 points, hit 4 three pointers in the contest and was a perfect 6 of 6 from the charity stripe.

In the opening period, Lacey Beeks followed a Macie Kultgen bucket with a 3-pointer which gave the Tigers an early 5- 0 lead. In the waning seconds of the frame, Beeks snagged a defensive rebound then took it coast-to-coast for a basket which made the lead 10-2 going into the second period.

An NBA distance 3-pointer from Fitts to begin the period swelled the lead to 13-2, but the Lions clawed back, shrinking the lead to 17-12. Kultgen, who had 6 points in the period, converted a pair of free throws with 15 seconds to go which made the lead 21-14 at intermission.

Fitts and Abby Smith hit back-to-back triples early in the third period which stretched the advantage to 27-14. Fitts continued to be deadly from behind the arc with another pair of 3-pointers midway through the period, which swelled the lead to 33-16.

Two inside buckets by Beeks down the stretch and a made free-throw by Callie Robinson in the last minute, helped the Tigers maintain their 17 point cushion, at 38-21 going into the final stanza.

Gravette staged an 11-2 run in the first half of the fourth period, which knocked the lead down to 40- 32. Yet, Prairie Grove’s lead inflated back to 14 points following 4 consecutive free throws by Fitts and a drive to the basket by Aryana Mitchell.

Beeks followed Fitts in the scoring ledger with 11 points. Kultgen finished with 8 points, Smith and Huber each tallied 3 points, Mitchell ended with 2 points and Robinson closed out the books with 1 point.

Gravette was led in scoring by Monica White with 13 points.