GENTRY — The Gentry Lady Pioneers saw a nine-point lead disappear in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, but coach Tim Rippy was pleased to see his team execute in overtime and come away with a 4A-1 Conference victory Tuesday night.

Destiny Thomas hit a free throw to give Gentry the lead for good with 57.6 seconds left in overtime and junior Kristen Flesner poked the ball away in the waning seconds as the Lady Pioneers held on for a 39-38 win over Pea Ridge in girls basketball action.

Pea Ridge (1-8, 0-3 4A-1 Conference) had a final chance when Gentry missed both ends of a two-shot foul with 4.7 seconds left. The Lady Blackhawks cleared the rebound, but Flesner poked the ball loose, dived on it and held on until the buzzer sounded.

Gentry coach Tim Rippy said he wasn’t pleased with the way his team played in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Lady Pioneers came up with big plays in overtime.

Gentry (6-5, 1-2) even trailed 33-31 after Jerika Schooley’s three-point play with 23.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter. But the Lady Pioneers executed an inbounds play from the baseline and Tara Arnold got free for a layup with eight seconds left and Pea Ridge failed to get off a final shot to force overtime.

“At least we responded, found a way to score and get it into overtime and gut out a win,” Rippy said.

Gentry was missing 6-4 senior Heather Marshall, who left the team earlier Tuesday. Rippy had no comment on Marshall leaving the team.

Thomas, a 5-5 senior, finished with a game-high 13 points for Gentry and her free throw gave the Lady Pioneers a 36-35 lead it would not relinquish.

Pea Ridge coach Heather Wade was proud of the way her team rallied late in the fourth quarter. The Lady Blackhawks hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start an 11-0 run and take its only lead of the game 33-31 on Schooley’s three-point play.

“They fought hard to get back in the game,” Wade said. “We hit some shots when we needed to and did a lot of things I felt we needed to do to win a ballgame.

“We did a better job of taking care of the basketball. It just came down to a few little things. A turnover or missing a block-out here or there.”

Wade acknowledged the Lady Blackhawks inexperience showed at times.

“We don’t have any seniors,” Wade said. “But we gave ourselves a chance to win.”

Schooley, a 5-6 junior, led Pea Ridge with 11 points.

Pea Ridge

Prep Basketball

4A-1 Conference

GENTRY 39, PEA RIDGE 38 OT

Pea Ridge 5 5 8 15 5 — 38

Gentry 6 9 6 12 6 — 39

Pea Ridge (1-8, 0-3): Schooley 11, Sanders 8, Caton 8, Cochran 6, Cypert 2, Tuszynski 3.

Gentry (6-5, 1-2): Thomas 13, Hammond 8, Arnold 7, Page 6, Olds 2, Williamson 2, Flesner 1.

Boys

Pea Ridge 64, Gentry 45

The Blackhawks jumped to a 42-21 halftime lead and cruised to the victory.

Pea Ridge improved to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in the 4A-1. Levi Pitts led the Blackhawks with 15 points, while Nick Deleon chipped in 13..

Dusty Haag led Gentry (4-7, 0-3) with 15 points and Brent Barker added 13.