Prairie Grove Jumps Elkins From Start

PRAIRIE GROVE GIRLS SALUTE HALL-OF-PRIDE WITH WIN

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER/Prairie Grove sophomore Trinity Dobbs draws a crowd as Elkins defenders converge on her. Dobbs scored 22 points to lead the Lady Tigers past Elkins, 38-32, Friday.
MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER/Prairie Grove sophomore Trinity Dobbs draws a crowd as Elkins defenders converge on her. Dobbs scored 22 points to lead the Lady Tigers past Elkins, 38-32, Friday.

PRAIRIE GROVE -- On a night showcasing athletic history with three alumni inducted into the Hall of Pride, Prairie Grove claimed a 38-32 nonconference girls basketball game win against Elkins Friday.

Among those honored was Tracey "Tree" Hutchinson-Holyfield renowned for never losing a jump-ball during her playing career at Prairie Grove. She graduated in 1984 and played during an era when there were as many as 30 jump-balls in some games with no alternate possession rule.

Hutchinson-Holyfield recalls the late coach Mike Green making strategy around her winning the jump-ball.

"It was kind of a given that we knew that was going to happen and I mean I had just this incredible leap because I could jump and grab ahold of the rim, which wasn't very often that a girl, a female that could do that, so it was pretty much a given," Hutchinson-Holyfield said. "And back then, you had jump balls all the time. You didn't do that where you throw it in from the side and so it was always one of those things that we knew that we were going to be able (to gain possession) because I could just get up get it to whoever I wanted to and we always knew we had that."

Prairie Grove sophomore Trinity Dobbs knew who was in the house and wanted nothing less than to honor her predecessor and carry out the wishes of her coach, Kevin Froud, by winning the game. Hutchinson-Holyfield went on to play for the Lady Razorbacks, an achievement Dobbs wants to add to her personal profile.

"It was cool to watch her see me play and I'd like to play at the next level, too and so it's cool to see that teammate from Prairie Grove," Dobbs said.

Junior 5-9 center Tiara Jackson is Elkins' only experienced player returning from a senior-laden team last year. She scored 15 points for the Lady Elks, but Prairie Grove never let her get going in the first quarter while jumping out to a 16-4 lead.

Elkins countered by outscoring Prairie Grove 9-3 in the second quarter trimming the Lady Tigers' lead to 19-13 at halftime. Dobbs kept the Lady Elks at bay. There was only one thing to do with a loose ball tipped into her hands on Prairie Grove's first possession of the third quarter, put the ball in the hoop.

After Elkins' senior Bryn Shirley cranked up a 3-pointer, Dobbs fed Zoe Hubbs for a layup and later cut to the basket when she saw Torie Price driving the lane. Price got her the ball and Dobbs promptly scored.

Prairie Grove held a 27-19 lead after three quarters and met every challenge in the fourth.

Dobbs dribbled into the key and dished to Price open for a 3-pointer on the wing. Fourteen seconds later Shirley hit a trey for Elkins. The Lady Elks closed the gap to 32-25 when Jackson banked in a shot while driving the lane at the 2:41 mark. Dobbs shook off cramps to make 6-of-6 free throws to seal the 38-32 win.

Prairie Grove 38, Elkins 32

Elkins^4^9^6^13 -- 32

Prairie Grove^16^3^8^11 -- 38

Elkins (5-2): Tiara Jackson 5 5-11 15, Bryn Shirley 4 0-0 11, Makenna Hughes 2 0-0 5, Charity Moore 0 1-2 1, Ashley Brink 0 0-2 0. Totals 11 6-15 32.

Prairie Grove (4-5): Trinity Dobbs 7-11 6-6 22, Torie Price 2-8 2-4 8, Olivia Kester 2-9 0-2 4, Logan Meadors 1-2 0-0 2, Zoe Hubbs 1-2 0-0 2, Charity Stearman 0-3 0-0 0, Arianna Harrel 0-2 0-0 0, Eleanor Giardino 0-1 0-0 0, Alex Torres 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 13-40 8-13 38.

3-point Goals -- Elkins -- 4 (Shirley 3, Hughes). Prairie Grove -- 4-13 (Dobbs 2-4 Price 2-4, Harrel 0-1, Stearman 0-2, Torres 0-2).

Rebounds -- Prairie Grove 29 (Dobbs 10). Assists -- Prairie Grove 10 (Dobbs 3). Steals -- Prairie Grove 5 (Dobbs 3). Blocks -- Prairie Grove 1 (Kester). Turnovers -- Prairie Grove 17.

Sports on 12/11/2019