PRAIRIE GROVE — Kevin Froud didn’t want to give Siloam Springs another chance at a possible buzzer-beater.
Prairie Grove’s girls had a four-point lead with 34 seconds left in the second overtime when Froud gave the Lady Tigers the option of going for a quick score. Whitnee Fitts then hit a layup off Lacey Beeks’ long inbounds pass, and Prairie Grove went on to post a 59-52 victory in nonconference basketball action Tuesday night.
“That’s just part of a senior stepping up,” Froud said after the game. “It’s an offense where we read what it is. They were all up and not letting us get the ball in, so we went deep and hit the home run.”
Fitts’ layup made it 58-52 with 30.4 seconds remaining, then Justyne Huber hit a free throw to close out the scoring in the season opener for both teams. It also ruined the Siloam Springs coaching debut of Brett Sanders, who took over when Debbie Sharp resigned.
Prairie Grove (1-0) pulled out the victory despite a pair of clutch 3-pointers by Bailey Cameron. Her first one came from the left wing with two seconds left in regulation, then she forced a second overtime when she did it again just before the buzzer sounded.
Huber then put the Lady Tigers ahead when she hit two free throws with 3:18 left in the second overtime. Callie Robinson then hit an inside bucket and added two from the line to give Prairie Grove a 56-50 lead at the 1:57 mark.
“Siloam played extremely hard,” Froud said. “I was pleased with our girls and their effort and intensity.
“We’re battling a lot of adversity. We have girls with bad backs and bad knees, but they kept playing. I saw a lot of things we could grow on. We have some that are having to play a lot of minutes with not a lot of experience.”
Fitts led a trio of Lady Tigers in double figures with 18 points, followed by Beeks with 15 and Macie Kultgen with 10. Morgan Miller led Siloam Springs with 16, while Cameron chipped in 15.
Boys
Siloam Springs 72, Prairie Grove 42
Payton Henson almost matched Prairie Grove point for point as the 6-foot-6 senior scored 40 points to lead Siloam Springs (1-0) to an easy win.
Henson had 12 of the Panthers’ 21 points in the second quarter, then followed that with 16 of Siloam Springs’ 21 points in the third quarter.
Henson, who will sign next week with Tulane, was the only Panther in double figures, while Shane Carlson and Dylan Gray each added nine. Ty Tice had 20 points for Prairie Grove (0-1).
PREP BASKETBALL
NONCONFERENCE
GIRLS
PRAIRIE GROVE 59, SILOAM SPRINGS 52 (2 OT)
Siloam Springs 12 4 10 16 8 2 — 52
Prairie Grove 13 10 10 9 8 9 — 59
Siloam Springs (0-1): Miller 16, Cameron 15, Owens 8, Turner 3, Jones 3, Lopez 2, Pippin 2, Torres 2, Stock 1.
Prairie Grove (1-0): Fitts 18, Beeks 15, Kultgen 10, Huber 7, Robinson 6, Smith 3.
BOYS
SILOAM SPRINGS 72, PRAIRIE GROVE 42
Siloam Springs 11 21 21 19 — 72
Prairie Grove 15 11 10 6 — 42
Siloam Springs (1-0): Hanson 40, Carlson 9, Gray 9, Leyva 8, Goddard 5, Comiskey 1.
Prairie Grove (0-1): Tice 20, Arguello 8, Purselll 5, Doublehead 4, Doughty 3, Sims 2,