PRAIRIE GROVE -- Two early possessions provided a glimpse of what was to come at Prairie Grove Tuesday night.
Pea Ridge opened the game with consecutive three-pointers while Prairie Grove failed to hit the rim on its first shot. Pea Ridge kept scoring and defeated Prairie Grove 62-45 Tuesday in 3A/4A District 1 action at the Tigers' gym.
Boys
Pea Ridge^19^10^8^19—^56
Prairie Grove^17^13^16^13—^59
Pea Ridge (23-2, 16-1): Hall 14, Thomas 12, Rose 9, Wright 8, Caudill 6, Church 5, Holtgrewe 2.
Prairie Grove (11-13): Pridmore 20, Cooper 11, Laird 11, Disney 9, Moore 5, Pearson 2, Simmons 1.
Girls
Pea Ridge^23^11^12^16^—^62
Prairie Grove^9^13^12^11^–^45
Pea Ridge (16-9): Fletcher 12, Dayberry 12, Anthony 9, Whatley 9, Davis 8, Landis 5, Mitchell 3, Socha 2, West 2.
Prairie Grove (7-15): Bartholomew 18, Grant 9, Doering 5, Lopez 5, Hartgrave 3, Crawford 3, Madewell 2.
Pea Ridge made its first seven attempts from the field while building leads of 10-0 and 17-3 in the first quarter. Eight players contributed baskets in the first half when Pea Ridge led 34-22 after two quarters.
Prairie Grove got to within nine points in the third quarter before Maggie Fletcher made a three-pointer to push the Pea Ridge lead to 44-30. Fletcher and Avery Dayberry each finished with 12 points to lead a balanced scoring effort by the Lady Blackhawks (16-9, 11-6).
"We don't always look to (Fletcher) as much as we should, but she's been very patient," Pea Ridge coach Heath Neal said. "It was the best game she's had all year and it was fun watching that for her."
Pea Ridge grabbed a 10-0 lead after Fletcher and Jennifer Anthony opened the game with 3-point baskets. Fletcher and Anthony scored again and Fletcher blocked a shot that led to a fast break basket when Pea Ridge pulled ahead 27-12 early in the second quarter.
Fletcher was helped off the court after she hurt an ankle in the third quarter. But she should be ready either for Friday's home game against Elkins or the 4A-1 Conference Tournament next week at Berryville.
Camree Bartholomew scored 18 points in her final home appearance on Senior Night for Prairie Grove (7-15, 6-11).
"Pea Ridge came out tonight, played physical, and hit shots," Prairie Grove coach Kevin Froud said of the early surge from the Lady Blackhawks. "We scrapped but Pea Ridge played really good."
Prairie Grove's offense consisted of Bartholomew driving to the basket for layups or free throw attempts after she was fouled. But Prairie Grove could not find another scoring option besides Bartholomew and sophomore Emily Grant, who added nine points.
Boys
Prairie Grove 59, Pea Ridge 56
Zeke Laird hit a 3-pointer to break a tie with 1 minute, 42 seconds left and Prairie Grove went on to hand Pea Ridge (23-2) only its second loss of the season.
Pea Ridge rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter but could not overtake the Tigers (11-13), who rebounded from a tough loss at Lincoln last week. The Blackhawks had a chance to tie but Joey Hall's 3-point attempt at the buzzer hit the front of the rim and bounced away.
Sophomore Will Pridmore scored 20 points to lead Prairie Grove while Laird and junior Demarkus Cooper added 11 points each. Hall finished with 14 points to lead Pea Ridge, which trailed 50-40 after Cooper made a driving layup with over five minutes remaining.
Sports on 02/08/2017