GRAVETTE — The path to the rim was wide open, but Tara Arnold missed the open layup.
She immediately flashed a solemn look at Gentry girls basketball coach Tim Rippy. That look swiftly changed to one of determination, and down the stretch, the Lady Pioneers senior made up for the miss, scoring seven of her game-high 23 points in the final three minutes of Gentry’s 50-44 win over Gravette on Tuesday.
“I was just disappointed that I missed it,” Arnold said. “After that, I just got it in my mind that I would not miss another shot.”
And she didn’t. Arnold’s three-point play with 1 minute, 13 seconds left gave Gentry (8-10, 2-5 4A-1 Conference) a 46-42 lead, and later her full-court layup off a long pass sealed the game for the Lady Pioneers.
Gentry 50, Gravette 44
Gentry 13 12 8 17 — 50
Gravette 11 11 12 10 — 44
Gentry (8-10, 2-5): Arnold 23, Olds 16, Hammond 5, Thomas 4, Flesner 2.
Gravette (5-11, 1-6): Wishon 16, White 10, Davis 8, Pruitt 7, Dewitt 3.
Early on Gentry rode the hot shooting of junior Jordan Olds, who drained three first-quarter 3-pointers and finished with 16 points.
“Those were huge, because they came out in a 1-3-1,” Rippy said. “That surprised us some because we thought they would come out and play us man. We struggled a little bit early to score, but all of a sudden Jordan just hit three or four 3s and that was a big swing.”
Gravette (5-11, 1-6) struggled with early foul problems that sent starters Monica White and Samantha Pruitt to the bench. White picked up her second foul early in the second quarter and did not return until the third quarter and her team trailing 25-22 at halftime.
“That hurt us,” Gravette coach William Pittman said. “We were scoring inside and they were having trouble guarding us, so that was big.
“And it hurt us on the defensive end, too.”
The game was close throughout. Gravette led 34-33 after three quarters as White and Destaney Wishon led the charge for the Lady Lions.
Gravette’s height advantage inside led to multiple shots on several possessions, and Wishon’s offensive putback with 4:25 left gave the Lady Lions a 41-38 lead.
Gentry’s Destiny Thomas drained a 3-pointer to tie the score at 41-41 and the Lady Pioneers only trailed once the rest of the way.
Wishon finished with 16 points for Gravette and White added 10.
Boys
Gravette 72, Gentry 32
The Lions built a big lead early and cruised to a mercy-rule win.
Terence Pierce led the way for Gravette (9-7, 5-2) with 22 points. Otto Troutner added 16 and Quinten Parker scored 11.
Dusty Haag led Gentry (4-14, 0-7) with 9 points.
Gravette 72, Gentry 32
Gentry 9 9 9 5 — 32
Gravette 22 21 20 9 — 72
Gentry (4-14, 0-7): Haag 9, Stoufflet 8, Massie 5, Ellis 5, Hockenberry 3, Edmondson 2.
Gravette (9-7, 5-2): Pierce 22, Troutner 16, Parker 11, M. VanOtterloo 6, Pollreis 6, T. VanOtterloo 5, Nims 3, Turner 3.
JUNIOR VARSITY: Gravette 34, Gentry 32