ELKINS -- Sometimes wins don't particularly come in glowing fashion.
Elkins survived a turnover-filled battle with Gravette, 37-33, in nonconference girls' action Tuesday at Elkins' gymnasium.
Senior Girls
Elkins 37, Gravette 33
Gravette^6^10^6^11^—^33
Elkins^5^14^11^7^—^37
Gravette (3-6): Hicks 16, Chalk 8, Foster 6, Pinter 2, Hubbard 1.
Elkins (4-4): Welch 10, Pitts 9, Stahman 7, Hendrix 6, Krodell 5.
Senior Boys
Gravette 64, Elkins 42
Gravette^15^14^17^18^—^64
Elkins^12^5^11^14^—^42
Gravette (4-3): Morgan 13, Turner 12, Carlton 11, Jackson 10, White 7, Pike 6, Fox 3, Johnson 2.
Elkins (1-3): Metcalf 12, Casebolt 9, Trav. England 8, Trev. England 7, Shumate 4, Camp 2.
"That's what I wrote on the board after the game. Ugly wins are better than pretty losses," Elkins girls basketball coach Monica Wells said. "It's the oldest coaches' cliche in the book, but it absolutely applies to us."
With both teams struggling with turnovers offense was hard to come by throughout the game, particularly at the outset. The Lady Elks (4-4) finally showed some life in the scoring department, using a pair of second-quarter 3-pointers from Bella Pitts and Alicia Welch to spark a 14-point spurt over eight minutes.
Elkins took a 19-16 lead into the half and increased to lead to almost 10 in the third quarter. But the Lady Lions (3-6) fought back to within one possession in the fourth quarter, only to have more turnovers prevent any possible comeback.
"We handled their pressure pretty good, but when we got over the halfcourt we had way too many turnovers and I thought that was the difference in the game," Gravette coach Will Pittman said. "But I thought we fought hard all night,"
Elkins secured the win at the free throw line, getting one of two free throws from Karly Krodell in the final moments to push the lead back to 37-33.
Sydney Hicks led the Lady Lions with 16 points. Welch paced Elkins with 10 and Pitts added nine.
Boys
Gravette 64, Elkins 42
Four players, led by Dustin Morgan with 13 points and Cole Turner with 12, sparked a balanced attack, as Gravette (4-3) jumped out in front of Elkins with a high-energy charge out of the gate.
The Elks struggled to match a size disadvantage and lack of depth, as Gravette eventually pulled away for the easy double-digit win.
"I thought our energy is what has picked up," Gravette coach Greg White said. "It's more that our kids are starting to trust our system.
"I thought Zac Carlton was big on both ends tonight and our big guys were big tonight."
Sports on 12/10/2014