POTTSVILLE — Kendra Coyle and Justine Huber made sure Prairie Grove earned the opportunity to defend their Class 4A state championship.
The two dominated Dover from the outset Thursday night as they outscored the Lady Pirates by themselves and led the Lady Tigers to a 77-54 victory in the Class 4A North Region tournament at George S. Jones Gymnasium.
“Huber and Coyle were just outstanding,” Prairie Grove Coach Kevin Froud said. “We have other players that can go out there and score, but we didn’t need them that much.
“You could tell those two wanted to play next week. You could see it in their eyes, andnow the pressure’s off. That’s the main thing.”
Coyle, the senior guard and Ouachita Baptist signee, finished with 33 points to lead Prairie Grove (23-7), which completed a first-round sweep of 1-4A Conference teams with the victory. Huber, a sophomore post, provided the perfect complement with a 25-point outing after not playing last weekend in the Lady Tigers’ loss to Shiloh Christian in the district tournament.
“That inside-outside combination Prairie Grove has is dangerous,” Dover Coach Irvin Fairfield said. “That’s an impressive one-two punch. That [Coyle] and [Huber] had a pair of all-state performances.
“They’ve been there before and know how to play at another level, while we’re just at the top of the iceberg. We played hard, but we madesome inexperienced mistakes out there.”
Kari Scott gave Dover (18-10) its only lead by hitting the first basket of the game. Huber and Coyle took over after that as Prairie Grove raced to a 21-9 first-quarter lead.
Prairie Grove’s biggest lead came at the end of the third quarter, when Whitnee Fitts’ three-pointer gave the Lady Tigers a 67-40 cushion.
Coyle and Huber were the only players in double figures for Prairie Grove, which plays Gravette at 7 tonight in the semifinals. Gentry, a 63-58 winner over Pottsville in Thursday’s opening round, plays Shiloh Christian at 4 p.m.
Scott led Dover with 15 points.
GENTRY 63, POTTSVILLE 58
Kendra Boyd scored 17 points as Gentry (21-9) defeated Pottsville (22-8) in the opening round.
Tara Jones added 15 points and Courtney Millsap 10 for Gentry.
Jesse Van Es and Michaela Talley led Pottsville with 17 points each.
BOYS FARMINGTON 68, MENA 45
Kendall Buchanan scored a game-high 30 points as Farmington (24-5) defeated Mena (17-13) in the opening round.
Buchanan scored 24 points in the second half as the Cardinals cruised into today’s semifinals. Farmington led 44-30 before Buchanan scored the Cardinals’ next 19 points.
Steven Leichner added 16 points for Farmington, and Jason Purdy had 13.
Alex Hurst led Mena with 14 points, and Daniel Wood scored 11.
WALDRON 52, SHILOH CHRISTIAN 49
Keith Roets scored 14 points as Waldron (19-9) edged Shiloh Christian (15-13) in the opening round.
Taylor Bunting added 13 points for Waldron, which outscored Shiloh Christian 20-7 in final quarter.
Darian Harris led Shiloh Christian with 12 points, while David Matthews and Taylor Thompson added 10 each.
Sports, Pages 17 on 02/25/2011