Bad Time To Go Cold

PEA RIDGE ELIMINATES LADY TIGERS 45-39

PRAIRIE GROVE — Prairie Grove picked an inopportune time to go cold with an inability to score leading to their 45-39 elimination by Pea Ridge from the District 4A-1 tournament Tuesday, Feb. 18.

“We go almost two quarters and don’t make any baskets. It’s hard to win when you do that,” said Prairie Grove coach Kevin Froud. “Pea Ridge’s defense had something to do with that, but we were getting shots. There were good shots. We had some open threes and some layups, but we just couldn’t make them.”

The score was knotted at 13-13 at the end of the first quarter. Prairie Grove (10-17) fell behind when Pea Ridge ( 20-7) began the second quarter with an 8-0 run and trailed 30-24 at halftime.

The Lady Tigers didn’t execute against a physical brand of defense employed by Pea Ridge in the third. Prairie Grove did not record a single field goal in the period. Every interior shot was contested and a lot of contact ensued. The Lady Blackhawks owned a 41-30 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Eventually fouls began to rack up against Pea Ridge. Then once they reached the double bonus the whistles stopped. Pea Ridge coach Heath Neal called the official over during a time-out and the Lady Blackhawks went the next 4:55 without another foul being called against them despite the physicality of the game.

Prairie Grove’s defense limited Pea Ridge to four points in the fourth quarter.

Pea Ridge made just 1-of-5 free throws in the fourth. Their only field goal came on Allisa Short’s 3-pointer that bounced out before falling back in. That gave the Lady Blackhawks a 44-33 lead with 4:15 to play.

Prairie Grove couldn’t cash in because they were so cold. While acknowledging the defensive effort, Froud could only lament the lack of offensive punch. Prairie Grove’s first bucket in the fourth didn’t occur until less than a minute remained and Pea Ridge leading by double digits. Logan Meadors’ put-back reduced the deficit to 45-36 and a 6-0 mini-run by Prairie Grove in the last 1:02 was not enough.

“We held them to four (in the fourth), but we got to score,” Froud said. “We’d come down and get some good looks. We’d hold them, but we couldn’t score.”

Jasmine Wynos led Prairie Grove with 13 points. Torie Price added 10.

Short scored a game-high 16 points for Pea Ridge.

PEA RIDGE 45, PRAIRIE GROVE 39

Pea Ridge 13 17 11 4 — 45 Prairie Grove 13 11 6 9 — 39 Prairie Grove (10-17): Jasmine Wynos 2-9 8-9 12, Torie Price 3-8 1-2 10, Trinity Dobbs 2-17 2-2 7, Ella Faulk 1-2 1-2 3, Arianna Harrel 1-1 0-0 2, Logan Meadors 1-1 0-0 2, Abby Preston 0-3 1-3 1, Charity Stearman 0-6 1-2 1, Alex Torres 0-1 1-2 1, Olivia Kestner 0-2 0-1 0. Totals 10-50 15-23 39. Pea Ridge (20-7): Allisa Short 4 5-6 16, Blakelee Winn 4 0-1 8, Aidan Dayberry 2 1-3 5, Ravin Cawthon 2 0-0 5, Hayley West 2 0-0 5, Josie Goldberg 1 1-1 3, Lauren Wright 1 1-4 3. Totals 16 8-15 45. 3-point Goals — Prairie Grove 4-22 (Price 3-7, Dobbs 1-9, Preston 0-2, Stearman 0-2, Wynos 0-2). Pea Ridge — 5 (Short 3, West, Wright). Rebounds — Prairie Grove 33 (Wynos 11). Assists — Prairie Grove 9 (Dobbs 3). Steals — Prairie Grove 4 (Wynos, Price, Stearman, Faulk). Blocks — Prairie Grove 0. Turnovers — Prairie Grove 13.