PRAIRIE GROVE -- Mattie Hartin scored 16 of her game-high 18 points in the second half to lift Prairie Grove to a 48-40 win over Huntsville in 4A-1 Conference girls basketball action Tuesday night in Tiger Arena.
Hartin drained four 3-pointers in the second half, including three in the third quarter to help the Lady Tigers (6-2, 1-0 4A-1) overcame an early deficit. Taylor Hartin added 16 for Prairie Grove.
Huntsville^9^11^14^6^—^40
Prairie Grove^8^11^16^13^—^48
Huntsville (6-5, 0-1): Gosvener 11, Walkingstick 10, Tipton 6, Campbell 6, McCone 4, Watkins 3
Prairie Grove (6-2, 1-0): M. Hartin 18, T. Hartin 16, Bartholomew 7, Stone 4, Doss 3.
Junior Varsity Girls: Prairie Grove 38, Huntsville 21
Junior Varsity Boys: Huntsville 28, Prairie Grove 22
The Lady Tigers struggled to make shots in the first half, going 0-for-8 from the 3-point line until Camree Bartholomew finally hit a shot from behind the arc.
"We turned up a little bit of the defensive pressure and got some turnovers," Prairie Grove coach Kevin Froud said. "We hit a few shots and got into more of a rhythm. We're still trying to learn how to play with Parker Lopez out with an injury. We're still trying to learn how to play without her because she's our slasher and can get to the basket."
On Tuesday it was Taylor Hartin who filled that role, especially in the first half, scoring 11 of her 16 points in the opening 16 minutes, most on drives to the basket.
"Taylor Hartin, if we didn't have her, we'd have been way behind," Froud said.
Huntsville (6-5, 0-1) opened the game on fire from the 3-point line, hitting its first three shots from behind the line, and scoring its first 18 points on 3-pointers.
Gentry Gosvener, who led the Lady Eagles with 11 points, hit three 3-pointers in the first half as Huntsville took a 20-19 lead at halftime.
Prairie Grove took its first lead of the game with 5 minutes, 7 seconds left in the third quarter on a pair of Sarah James Stone free throws. But the biggest shot of the game for the Lady Tigers came with under 25 seconds left when Taylor Doss drained a 3-pointer from the left wing and a 35-34 lead.
"Taylor's shot there at the end of the quarter was big," Froud said. "I thought that got us going."
Prairie Grove opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers from Mattie Hartin and Bartholomew for a 41-34 lead and held the advantage the rest of the way.
The varsity boys did not play Tuesday night with eight Prairie Grove players just coming over from the football team, which played in the Class 4A state championship game last Saturday night. The boys game will be played at a later date.
Sports on 12/16/2015