PEA RIDGE — Whitnee Fitts raced across the baseline and found an open spot on the right wing.
The Prairie Grove senior guard set her feet and launched an arching shot that settled into the net from just outside the 3-point stripe. It was her sixth 3-pointer of the night.
Fitts supplied almost half of the Lady Tigers’ offense on Tuesday in a 46-40 overtime win against Pea Ridge. And the top team in the 4A-1 Conference needed every one of her game-high 21 points.
“She did a real good job,” Prairie Grove girls basketball coach Kevin Froud said. “She made a big one there to tie us up and get us to overtime. That’s what seniors do.”
But it could have been a different outcome. Pea Ridge (3-13, 0-5 4A-1) had a chance late to win the game, but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 2.4 seconds left that might have given the Lady Blackhawks a stunning win.
“We always talk about those free throws at the end of the game,” Pea Ridge coach Heather Wade said. “Somebody’s got to hit them. But give my girls credit, they played hard.”
Prairie Grove (12-4, 5-0) trailed 40-37 when Lady Blackhawk Jerika Schooley knocked down her fourth 3-pointer of the game with just under a minute left. Schooley had 16 points for Pea Ridge.
After Pea Ridge missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 38.2 seconds left, Fitts, who hit four 3-pointers in the first half, got loose and drained the game-tying shot with 21.7 seconds left.
“It was a lot closer game than we thought,” Froud said. “(Pea Ridge) shot the ball pretty good and they played harder than we did, which is what aggravates me.”
Prairie Grove jumped to a 7-0 lead before Pea Ridge went on a 9-0 run in the first quarter. The game was close the rest of the way.
In overtime, Prairie Grove’s Abby Smith hit a 3-pointer and the Lady Tigers never trailed again, outscoring Pea Ridge 6-0 in the extra quarter.
PRAIRIE GROVE 46, PEA RIDGE 40 (OT)
Prairie Grove 8 14 11 7 6 — 46
Pea Ridge 9 12 10 9 0 — 40
Prairie Grove (12-4, 5-0): Fitts 21, Huber 9, Beeks 8, Smith 5, Kultgen 3.
Pea Ridge (3-13, 0-5): Schooley 16, Tuszynski 7, Cochran 5, Caton 4, Winn 4, Cypert 2, Sanders 2.
BOYS
PEA RIDGE 60, PRAIRIE GROVE 26
The boys game was decided early as Pea Ridge (14-3, 5-0) jumped out to an 18-4 lead after one quarter and rolled to a mercy-rule win.
Levi Pitts scored a game-high 20 points for the Blackhawks, and Jacob Hall added 13.
For Prairie Grove (3-10, 1-4), Cameron Doughty had seven.
Prairie Grove 4 13 6 3 — 26
Pea Ridge 18 21 15 6 — 60
Prairie Grove (3-10, 1-4): Doughty 7, Tice 6, Storlie 4, Pursell 4, Allen 2, Arguello 2, Smith 1.
Pea Ridge (14-3, 5-0): Pitts 20, Hall 13, DeLeon 8, Rose 8, Buttry 7, Horton 2, Hardy 2.
JUNIOR VARSITY SCORE: Pea Ridge 50, Prairie Grove 34