Basketball: Ladd leads Ozark past Prairie Grove

OZARK -- Kylie Ladd drove the lane and put up a shot that glanced off the rim. Instead of lamenting a missed shot that would have given her team a lead with under a minute left, she hustled for the offensive rebound and drew a foul.

Ladd's two free throws gave Ozark a two-point lead the the Lady Hillbillies hung on for a 40-39 win over Prairie Grove in the Class 4A state semifinals in Ozark Arena.

4A State Tournament

Girls

Ozark 40, Prairie Grove 39

Prairie Grove^2^7^8^22^—^39

Ozark^5^13^8^14^—^40

Prairie Grove (22-12): Bartholomew 14, Lopez 7, T. Hartin 7, M. Hartin 7, Cox 2, Stone 2.

Ozark (29-3): K. Ladd 21, H. Ladd 5, Melton 4, Shaffer 1, McClellan 3, Heffington 2, Ree 2.

Ladd, who has signed with Arkansas State, finished with a game-high 21 points. She was clutch down the stretch, going 6-of-6 from the three-throw line to help the Lady Hillbillies (29-3) hold off scrappy senior-less Prairie Grove (22-12).

"That's what a good experienced guard is supposed to do," Ozark coach Brent Nagel said. "She does a good job of leading our team. We just feel like when the game is on the line, we want the ball in her hands."

Ozark needed that type of calming influence to hold off the Lady Tigers. Prairie Grove scored just two points in the first quarter, trailed 18-9 at halftime after missing three free throws and turned the ball over on four straight possessions in the third quarter.

Junior Taylor Hartin tossed in a long 3-pointer as the third quarter horn sounded, which gave Prairie Grove a glimmer of hope.

"We were hoping to get to the fourth quarter and keep it close to have a chance," Prairie Grove coach Kevin Froud said. "Neither team could hit anything in the first quarter. But the girls just kept playing hard and kept fighting."

Sophomore guard Camree Bartholomew came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring 9 of her team-high 14 points. Her 3-pointer from the left perimeter closed Ozark's lead to 30-28 with 3 minutes, 12 seconds left. And later Taylor Hartin's short jumper from the right baseline tied the score at 34-34 with 2:02 left.

It was close the rest of the way.

Ladd hit a pair of free throws to give Ozark back the lead, then Parker Lopez drove the lane and hit a layup to tie it again at 36-36 with 1:10 left.

Ladd drove down the court and attacked the basket from the left side, missed and gathered her own rebound and drew a foul. She again made both free throws for the 38-36 lead.

Prairie Grove worked the clock down to just over 10 seconds left when Lopez drove the lane in traffic and had a layup roll off the rim. Froud thought there was enough contact on the play to draw a foul.

"If you're going to call a foul on one end on the loose ball, but not call that ..." Froud said. "But we could have made some shots in the first quarter and not been in that situation. No way am I blaming the refs."

Freshman Hannah Ladd hit two clutch free throws with 7.7 seconds left to seal the win before Lopez hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Nagel said his team's slow start could be attributed to nerves, and playing before a packed house on their home court.

"I think the noise volume and high intensity of the crowd was a factor," Nagael, whose team will take on Riverview in the state title game on Friday in Hot Springs. "We missed some shots that we normally make, and Prairie Grove shoots the ball extremely and they missed some shots they normally make."

But in the end, having the senior Ladd was the difference.

"We rely on her a lot," Nagel said. "We feel like she's one of the best in the state."

Sports on 03/10/2015

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