SPRINGDALE -- Prairie Grove's defense got progressively better yielding only 22 points through the first three quarters in beating Berryville, 49-34, on Friday to reach the district girls basketball championship.
Prairie Grove only tallied 9 total rebounds in the game but did what they had to on defense using their feet to keep themselves between their opponent and the basket in the 4A-1 semifinal played on the campus of Shiloh Christian High School at Springdale. Prairie Grove was 19 of 21 at the free throw line and 8 of their 12 field goals were assisted.
Thirty-two seconds into the contest Parker Lopez opened with a 3-pointer for Prairie Grove but then the Lady Tigers went scoreless for the next 4:16 against Berryville's zone. The Bobcats led 7-3 on a pair of Hayley Skelton buckets, the second of which came on a high-low play. Lopez, who had 5 assists, then broke down the zone by catching the ball in the middle and feeding Ashley Cox for a short bank shot.
Aleksei Smith recorded a driving layup to give the Bobcats a 9-5 lead as the first period ended, scoring on an in-bounds play to begin the second but Prairie Grove rallied to tie the game at 11 after getting Mattie Hartin's 3-pointer and another Lopez assist to Cox. Smith answered with a 3-point play coming off Skelton's screen and Hannah Noble's pull-up banked in to put the Bobcats on top, 16-11, at the 2:18 mark of the second quarter.
Prairie Grove closed out the half on a 7-0 surge. Lopez had a put-back, then added a free throw. The Lady Tigers scored 4 points in the final nine seconds. After Mattie Hartin converted both shots on a trip to the line, Taylor Doss stole the dribble on the ensuing in-bounds play and was fouled. She sank both to give Prairie Grove an 18-16 halftime lead.
Berryville briefly regained the lead at 21-20 midway through the third period but the Lady Tiger defense would not allow them to increase it. Bartholomew stands all of 5-foot-3 but fronted 5-foot-9 Skelton in the low-post and stole an entry pass leading to Mattie Hartin's trifecta from the left corner and a 23-21 Prairie Grove lead.
Berryville hurt themselves with turnovers and three times Prairie Grove capitalized. Lopez got the ball in the paint again, this time setting up Bartholomew for a 3-pointer. Next time Lopez drove left out of the high-post for a layup and the Lady Tigers milked the clock after a Bobcat traveling violation. With six seconds showing Mattie Hartin, who topped the Lady Tigers with 15 points, nailed a trey from downtown and Prairie Grove took a 31-22 lead into the fourth quarter.
Taylor Hartin demonstrated great patience by not forcing shots with Berryville dogging her throughout the game but when she did get an open look courtesy of Lopez on a kick-out of the paint she busted a 3-pointer. The basket extended Prairie Grove's advantage to 37-24 and the Lady Tigers controlled the clock and hit free throws down the stretch to take a 49-34 victory which advanced them into the district finals on Saturday against co-conference champion, Huntsville.
Prairie Grove 49, Berryville 34
Berryville 9 7 6 12 -- 34
Prairie Grove 5 13 13 18 -- 49
Berryville (19-5, 11-3): Aleksei Smith 8 1-1 19, Hayley Skelton 2 0-0 4, Ally Teague 0 1-2 1, Hannah Noble 3 1-2 7, Whitney Howerton 1 1-3 3. Totals 14 4-8 34.
Prairie Grove (17-11, 12-2): Ashley Cox 3-3 3-3 9, Mattie Hartin 3-7 6-6 15, Sara James 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Hartin 1-1 3-4 6, Parker Lopez 2-3 3-4 7, Camree Bartholomew 3-10 2-2 10, Taylor Doss 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 12-24 19-21 49.
3-point goals: Berryville 2 (A.Smith 2). Prairie Grove 6-14 (M.Hartin 3-6, Bartholomew 2-7, T. Hartin 1-1).
Rebounds: Prairie Grove 9 (Cox 3).
Assists: Prairie Grove 8 (Lopez 5). Steals -- Prairie Grove 3 (Bartholomew 2).
Turnovers: Prairie Grove 5.
Sports on 02/25/2015