SPRINGDALE -- Miscues down the stretch kept Shiloh Christian alive, but the clock was Prairie Grove's friend and mercifully expired with the Lady Tigers ahead, 43-40, on Jan. 2.
The Lady Tigers won despite a 5-second dribbling violation with 1:05 to go and going 0-for-3 at the foul line in the final 33.7 seconds that included a lane violation by the shooter. Shiloh Christian took the ball out-of-bounds at the far end with 1.3 seconds left after a mental mistake at the free throw line. The coaches matched strategy with each calling time-out knowing if Shiloh got off a 3-pointer they could potentially tie the game and force overtime.
Following a time-out by Shiloh Christian coach J.D. Dudley, Prairie Grove coach Kevin Froud called a time-out of his own after taking a look at the Lady Saints lining up. Shiloh Christian tried to lob the ball into the front-court, but the deflected pass was not caught and they never got off a shot.
Prairie Grove successfully defended last-second shots at the end of the first and third quarters, securing the rebound on both occasions. With the first quarter running down, Lexie Madewell's tough man-to-man defense didn't allow Shiloh Christian to get the ball to leading scorer, Lia Enos, until the last seconds of the first period. She hurried and missed with Jasmine Wynos clearing the defensive rebound for the Lady Tigers allowing Prairie Grove to stay within, 14-10, at the end of the first.
"It's a good win for us," Froud said. "They have a great player in Enos. She's a D-1 girl. She signed a basketball scholarship with St. Louis University. Enos can easily get 20 or 30 points. She does a good job of getting to the free-throw line and making her free throws. We did a good job on her."
Baskets by Anna McCredy on a feed from Enos and Carey Johnson's assist to a Enos cutting the lane gave Shiloh Christian an 18-10 lead, but after not scoring for the first 2:57 of the second quarter, Prairie Grove reeled off 12 unanswered points in a 2:49 span to move in front, 22-18. Emily Grant hit a 3-pointer, Sarah James Stone powered a shot in the paint over the 6-2 McCredy. Madewell banked in a three, and freshman Aniyah Gibbs snapped a 10-footer. Stone ripped an offensive rebound away from the Lady Saints and on an in-bounds play underneath the basket, Larisha Crawford drilled a trifecta. Shiloh Christian blocked a 3-point shot at the buzzer to limit Prairie Grove to a 25-21 halftime lead.
"That 6-2 girl (McCredy) does a lot of contesting," Froud said. "They do a lot of shot-blocking and shot contesting. They contest you inside so they make every shot hard. They make you shoot threes. If you're not hitting it makes it hard."
Grant and Kaylee Elder hit treys, then Elder and Gibbs combined to sink 3-of-4 free throws as the Lady Tigers opened up a 34-21 lead midway through the third quarter. Shiloh Christian responded with an 8-0 run. Enos made four foul shots and Johnson scored on a breakaway. McCredy's putback cut the lead to five before Grant broke the run with a free-throw for Prairie Grove. She cleared a defensive rebound after Jordan Rochelle missed a 3-pointer in the waning seconds of the third and Prairie Grove carried a 35-29 advantage into the fourth.
Handling the ball out top, Grant started the fourth with a pin-point pass to Madewell on the baseline. McCredy answered with a bank-shot in the paint for Shiloh Christian. The Lady Saints pulled within four again on Johnson's free throws after pulling down an offensive rebound, but Grant was playing to win. She hit a 12-footer and later penetrated the paint, drew defenders and fed Audrey Doering for a layup.
"Emily Grant threw one to Jasmine Wynos one time, also," Froud said. "We talk a lot in practice about seeing the backside and looking for gaps. Jasmine had a big layup in the fourth quarter that helped."
Wynos' steal and uncontested lay-in gave the Lady Tigers their last basket and a 43-36 lead at the 1:52 mark. The 7-point margin proved just enough a week after Prairie Grove's woeful shooting performance during a 42-31 loss to Shiloh Christian in the fifth place game of the Siloam Springs Holiday Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 30.
Offensively, Prairie Grove shot much better from the field in the Jan. 2 win on Shiloh Christian's home court and they were effective on defense. Only thee Lady Saints scored in the second half and 5-8 Shiloh Christian junior Shea Sandefur, who scored 14 points against Prairie Grove on Dec. 30, was held in check, managing only two points.
Prairie Grove 43, Shiloh Christian 40
Shiloh Christian^14^7^8^11^--^40
Prairie Grove^10^15^10^8^--^43
Shiloh Christian (8-6): Lia Enos 14, Carey Johnson 12, Ana McCredy 10, Shea Sandefur 2, Jordan Rochelle 2.
Prairie Grove (7-8): Emily Grant 4-10 1-4 11, Lexie Madewell 3-7 0-1 8, Kaylee Elder 2-7 1-3 7, Aniyah Gibbs 1-6 2-2 4, Sarah James Stone 1-5 2-2 4, Larisha Crawford 1-4 0-0 3, Jasmine Wynos 1-4 0-0 2, Madi Vinson 1-6 0-0 2, Audrey Doering 1-1 0-0 2, Jordan Sugg 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 15-52 6-14 43.
3-Point Goals -- Prairie Grove 7-25 (Madewell 2-3, Grant 2-6, Elder 2-7, Crawford 1-4, Gibbs 0-1, Sugg 0-1, Wynos 0-1, Vinson 0-2).
Rebounds -- Prairie Grove 21 (Stone 7). Assists -- Prairie Grove 12 (Grant 3, Crawford 3). Steals -- Prairie Grove 9 (Stone 3). Turnovers -- Prairie Grove 7.
Sports on 01/10/2018