PRAIRIE GROVE -- Both Farmington and Prairie Grove came in short-handed for Monday's girls basketball rivalry game that played out in convincing fashion Monday night.
The Lady Cardinals were missing starters, sophomore point guard Makenna Vanzant and junior forward Anthea Jones, plus two others; while the Lady Tigers played without junior forward-guard Emily Grant. Collectively that represented 19.7-points-per-game missing from Farmington's arsenal and 8.7-points-per-game from Prairie Grove's 2016 offense on injured reserve.
Farmington Transition
Speaking after Farmington beat former 4A-1 foe Gravette, 67-54, in a Nov. 14 benefit game at Cardinal Arena, Farmington coach Brad Johnson said the Lady Cardinals were starting to make the transition of playing without Vanzant at lead guard.
Farmington got point-production from junior forward-guard Alexis Roach, who played against Farmington last season while a member of the Siloam Springs varsity. Roach had 15 points in the first three quarters and led the team with 19. Roach ran the floor and took a lead pass to score a transition bucket, the kind of high-percentage shot Johnson wants. That gave Farmington a 61-38 lead with 6:47 left. Roach went to the offensive glass following Camryn Journagan's drive down the lane and drew a foul. She nailed both free throws pushing Farmington's lead back up to 65-47 at the 3:29 mark.
"We've got good pieces of the puzzle," Johnson said. "Madisyn Pense hit four 3-pointers in the third quarter that allowed us to get some separation. Alexis Roach has a tremendous amount of athleticism. Joelle Tidwell moved up as a ninth-grader. She got the benefit of playing in the postseason. She's not your typical sophomore. Madison Parsley is a good locker-room kid. Her leadership is pivotal in this."
Farmington led 59-38 going into the fourth. Pense finished with 18 points. Sophomore Audrey Culpepper made some timely plays and totaled 11 points. Tidwell added 10 and Journagan chipped in 9.
"Our goals don't change at all," Johnson said. "We've got to go with what we preach, the next man up mentality."
"The beautiful thing about this team is they're so close, they pull each other through things," Johnson said. "That's the strength of this basketball team. Go back to last year when so many games were decided by two or three points they found a way to win."
"We've managed to stay the course. There's an African proverb, 'If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together. Basketball is not a sprint, it's a marathon. That's our strength, our cohesiveness as a basketball program."
PG vs. Huntsville
Prairie Grove came in off a two-point road win at Huntsville Nov. 14. The impact of 5-9 senior post Sarah James Stone, who returned after not playing her junior year, played a large role in turning that game into a victory. Stone was in double figures in scoring and rebounding. She tied with teammate Aniyah Gibbs for team high scoring honors with 11 points. Stone gave the Lady Tigers 5 second-chances by pounding the offensive glass. She also had 7 defensive rebounds and led Prairie Grove in steals with 3.
Huntsville jumped out to a 14-6 first quarter lead and maintained a 21-14 advantage at the half. Prairie Grove cut into the deficit by outscoring the Lady Eagles, 12-6, in the third period, but still trailed, 27-26, going into the fourth. Prairie Grove pulled out the win with a 13-10 scoring advantage in the final quarter.
Prairie Grove 39, Huntsville 37
Prairie Grove^6^8^12^13^--^39
Huntsville^14^7^6^10^--^37
Prairie Grove (1-1): Sarah James Stone 3-4 5-8 11, Aniyah Gibbs 4-13 3-4 11, Jasmine Wynos 3-6 1-2 7, Larisha Crawford 2-9 0-0 6, Lexie Madewell 1-7 0-0 3, Audrey Doering 0-1 1-2 1, Jordan Sugg 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 13-44 10-16 39.
3-Point Goals -- Prairie Grove 3-20 (Crawford 2-9, Madewell 1-6, Sugg 0-3, Gibbs 0-1, Wynos 0-1). Fouled Out -- None. Rebounds-- Prairie Grove 29 (Stone 12). Assists-- Prairie Grove 6 (Doering 2, Madewell 2). Steals -- Prairie Grove 6 (Stone 3). Turnovers -- Prairie Grove 12.
FARMINGTON VS. PRAIRIE GROVE
Farmington 00, Prairie Grove 00
Prairie Grove^00^00^00^00^--^00
Farmington^00^00^00^00^--^00
Prairie Grove (1-1): Sarah James Stone 0 0-0 00, Aniyah Gibbs 0 0-0 00, Jasmine Wynos 0 0-0 10, Larisha Crawford 0 0-0 0, Lexie Madewell 0 0-0 0, Audrey Doering 0 0-0 0, Jordan Sugg 0 0-0 0, Kaylee Elder 0 0-0 0. Totals 00 00-00 00.
Farmington (0-0): Audrey Culpepper 0 0-0 00, Makenna Vanzant 0 0-00 00, Joelle Tidwell 0 0-000, Madisyn Pense 0 0-0 0, Camryn Journagan 0 0-0 0, Alexis Roach 0 0-0 00, Anthea Jones 0 0-0 0, Madison Parsley 0 0-0 0. Totals 00 00-00 00.
3-Point Goals -- Prairie Grove 0 (Gibbs 0, Sugg 0, Wynos 0, Madewell 0, Crawford 0, Elder 0), Farmington 0 (Pense 0, Vanzant 0, Journagan 0, Jones 0). Fouled Out -- None. Total Fouls -- Prairie Grove 00, Farmington 00.
Sports on 11/29/2017