Lady Tigers On Target

PRAIRIE GROVE SCORCHES NETS AGAINST SHILOH CHRISTIAN

PRAIRIE GROVE — After the graduation of four-year, 6-foot, All-Conference player Justyne Huber there are no indications Prairie Grove is rebuilding, rather they have reloaded.

“We have five seniors but we also got a lot of young players,” said Prairie Grove coach Kevin Froud. “They’ve got to have the mindset that they’re basketball players not sophomores or juniors. They’ve got to go out there and play as hard as they can possibly play.”

Shiloh Christian received a firsthand demonstration of the Lady Tigers’ prowess on the basketball court with a 64-22 shellacking in girls action on Thursday.

Prairie Grove shot the lights out and the defensive pressure, which has become a trademark of Froudcoached teams, disrupted the Saints’ offense. Five minutes into the contest, Prairie Grove led 16-3 when Lacey Beeks, who finished with a game- high 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting, blocked a shot, collared the rebound and went coast-to-coast to score a running lay-up.

The outcome was never in doubt beyond that stage of the game. Even when the Saints deflected the ball out- of- bounds with 1.8 seconds left in the first frame, Prairie Grove simply ran their offense and executed. Abby Smith got open in the right corner and drilled a trifecta for a 23-6 lead.

Smith said she thinks the season can be very enjoyable and pregame prayers help the team have a better bond and play better.

“We have good team chemistry,’ Smith said.

Shiloh didn’t get their next field goal until the 5: 09 mark of the second quarter but the hoop was sandwiched between 3-pointers by Prairie Grove’s Taylor Hartin and Smith.

As Prairie Grove shots continued to rain down from the rafters, Mattie Hartin stroked a trey from the left corner and after a Shiloh turnover Beeks stretched the lead to 30 using a head- fake to free herself up for a driving lay-up and a 38-8 score.

“I have always enjoyed playing in the post. My team is getting me the ball,” Beeks said. “Every year I look to take state. Whether we do it or not that’s always my goal.”

The Saints connected on 2-of-4 free throws that were offset by Macie Kultgen’s five straight points for the Lady Tigers before Taylor Hartin cranked up another trey.

Prairie Grove led 49-15 at intermission and 54-20 after three quarters.

The Saints managed a single field goal for their only points of the fourth period.

Froud played reserves in the fourth and Emily Sapp banked in a 3- pointer off the glass at the buzzer to account for the final margin of 64-22.

“We can score from a lot of different angles. I’ve got a deeper bench with girls who can score,” Froud said. “Our biggest weakness is our overall size so we’re going to try to speed it up.”

“We’re playing a good nonconference schedule plus our conference is up. Anybody can win it. There are probably six teams that can win it.”

Prairie Grove plays against Clarksville at 11 a.m. in the Tony Chachere Classic at Farmington on Saturday.

PRAIRIE GROVE 64, SHILOH CHRISTIAN 22

Shiloh Christian 6 9 5 2 — 22 Prairie Grove 23 26 5 10 — 64

Shiloh Christian (0-1): Sears 10, Roth 6, Pitts 2, Ruiz 2, Taylor 2. Totals 7 6-11 22.

Prairie Grove (1-0): Macie Kultgen 3-5 4-4 11, Callie Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Lacey Beeks 9-11 0-0 19, Abby Smith 2-2 0-0 5, Jessica Coffman 2-6 0-0 5, Taylor Hartin 3-4 3-4 12, Mattie Hartin 2-5 0-0 6, Emily Sapp 1-2 0-0 3, Taylor Doss 0-2 1-2 1, Megan Reynolds 0-2 0-0 0, Ashley Cox 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 22-42 10-12 64.

3-point goals — Shiloh Christian 2. Prairie Grove 10-18 (T. Hartin 3-4, M. Hartin 2-3, Beeks 1-1, Smith 1-1, Kultgen 1-2, Sapp 1-2, Coffman 1-3, Doss 0-1). Rebounds — Prairie Grove 17 (Cox 4). Assists — Prairie Grove 1 (Doss). Turnovers — Prairie Grove 10.

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Full speed ahead. Prairie Grove girls basketball coach Kevin Froud is on his feet directing the Lady Tigers to push the ball up the floor with senior guard Abby Smith doing as instructed. Prairie Grove won their season-opener, 64-22, over Shiloh...