Class 4A Girls

Prairie Grove's Defense Starts With Doss, Cox

NWA Democrat-Gazette/RICK FIRES Taylor Doss (left) and Ashley Cox are top defenders returning for a Prairie Grove team that brings back five starters after reaching the semifinals of the Class 4A state playoffs last season.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/RICK FIRES Taylor Doss (left) and Ashley Cox are top defenders returning for a Prairie Grove team that brings back five starters after reaching the semifinals of the Class 4A state playoffs last season.

PRAIRIE GROVE -- With five returning starters, Prairie Grove has plenty of players who can score.

Sisters Mattie Hartin and Taylor Hartin each averaged more than 10 points a game last season for a team that advanced to the semifinals of Class 4A state playoffs. Parker Lopez averaged 8.6 points, and Camree Bartholomew's production is sure to increase after she averaged 6.6 points as a sophomore.

The challenge for the Lady Tigers will be to also concentrate on defense, and that's where forward Ashley Cox and guard Taylor Doss come into the plans. Cox is the enforcer on the inside while Doss is the top defender on the perimeter for a team with little height, even by Class 4A standards.

Cox averaged just 3.5 points per game last season despite shooting 53 percent from the floor. Doss averaged less than 2 points per game, but the seniors are fine with letting others do the bulk of the scoring while they concentrate on their roles as defensive stoppers.

"Every night I'm comfortable in knowing that Taylor is going to do a good job on the other team's best guard," Prairie Grove Coach Kevin Froud said. "Ashley is an undersized forward, but she is the hardest-working girl that I've ever coached. She is not intimidated by anybody. She would go out there and guard a 6-2 girl who weighs 300 pounds and be fine with it.

"All of our girls play defense, but these two in particular take a lot of pride in it."

Doss sparked Prairie Grove last year when she came off the bench and forced three turnovers in the district tournament final against Huntsville. She also had eight points in an earlier game against the Lady Eagles.

"I try to do my best whenever [Froud] puts me out there to guard their best player," Doss said. "Not all the people notice what you do on defense, but it's a lot of fun for me."

Much is expected this season from Prairie Grove, which finished last season 22-13 and 12-2 in 1-4A Conference play. Prairie Grove started 2-8 against a rugged schedule that include some Class 7A schools, but the Lady Tigers' turnaround began in December after they rallied to victory in the conference opener at Huntsville.

"That was a huge game," Cox said of the Lady Tigers' one-point victory. "They had a ton of seniors and they were expecting to be really good. To go over there and beat them the first time was really exciting."

Prairie Grove continued its momentum through the regular season and won the district championship with another victory over Huntsville. The Lady Tigers finished second in the regional and were finally eliminated with a 70-69 loss to Ozark in the semifinals of the state tournament.

Sports on 11/18/2015