PEA RIDGE -- Senior Gabbi Adams did several things wrong like dribbling with her head down and allowing precious seconds to elapse, but she got off a shot.
Adams' high-arcing desperation attempt left her hands just before the fourth quarter horn then kissed off the backboard and went in for a game-tying 3-point basket that forced overtime as Pea Ridge rallied to beat Farmington, 63-60, on Tuesday, Jan. 29 at Blackhawk Gymnasium.
Pea Ridge girls basketball coach Heath Neal noted the win earned the Lady Blackhawks a measure of respect because last year Farmington, which was then a member of the 5A West, throttled the Lady Blackhawks 74-34, and won the first meeting this season, 71-64, on Dec. 18.
"It's conference play. We play in the toughest conference in the state. Anything can happen," Neal said. "It was fun to watch. It was fun to be a part of. It's what our kids have been working so hard for. Since last year, we got beat 40 at their place in a tournament and so our kids never forgot about that. That's been one of the things for our statement for our program that we didn't want that to repeat and so we go over there early in the year in another tough battle and they get the best of us there."
"Luckily, we had some shots fall at the end and pulled it out and our kids never stopped fighting. That's a positive for us."
The lead changed hands three times in overtime.
Pea Ridge scored first on Katelyn Swope's 3-pointer and Alexis Roach drove to the goal to answer for Farmington. Both teams missed 3-point shots before Makenna Vanzant made a steal while sitting on the floor. She found a teammate from the sitting position which led to Audrey Culpepper's driving bucket and a 59-58 Farmington lead.
Maria Socha used inside position to grab an offensive rebound and was fouled. She made both charity shots putting Pea Ridge back in front, 60-59 with 46.2 seconds to play in overtime.
On the ensuing possession Madisyn Pense beat a defender off the dribble but got too far under the basket and her layup was no good. Adams got the rebound and was immediately fouled making 1-of-2 free throws for a 61-59 Pea Ridge edge.
Vanzant's free throw with 10.6 seconds showing drew Farmington within, 61-60. Blakelee Winn put pressure on the Lady Cardinals to have to make a three by sinking a pair of foul shots.
Farmington had 10.6 seconds to make something happen and got off a 3-pointer, but Pea Ridge forced Pense to have to pump fake as a defender closed on her and her 3-pointer was off allowing Pea Ridge to pull out a 63-60 overtime win.
Farmington coach Brad Johnson shouldered the blame with a coaching decision not to foul when Pea Ridge inbounded the ball with less than four seconds to to in regulation.
"With three seconds to go, we know to foul and that's on me. I went against my better judgment. I pulled that off and it's not on the kids. I think the kids did everything I asked them to do to win the game and so tonight's loss falls on my shoulders. What we can't do, we can't worry about it. The game's over. We got to move forward and get ready for Gravette. Things don't change. It's still a race to the end. We're both still locked in the same spot on the West side. We got three games left, and we've got to focus on those three games and then try to get ready for postseason."
The game featured runs by both teams.
Pea Ridge took an early 8-0 lead on 3-pointers by Socha and Winn.
Farmington countered with a ferocious full-court press and used a 10-0 run to go ahead, 15-13. Pense hit a trifecta and Roach added a 3-point play.
The Lady Cardinals built their lead up to eight, at 24-16, before Pea Ridge reeled off a 17-2 run to take a 33-26 lead on Hollyn Davis' 3-pointer with 2:15 gone in the third quarter.
Trinity Johnson knocked down a trifecta to tie the game, at 44-44, just over two minutes into the fourth. The game was tied three more times before Vanzant's free throws gave Farmington a 54-52 lead with less than a minute remaining in regulation.
Pea Ridge missed a driving shot in the lane, but Farmington couldn't seal the game from the foul line making 1-of-2 to leave the door open.
Hollyn Davis led all scorers with 21 points for Pea Ridge, while Gabbi Adams added 12 and Blakelee Winn chipped in 11. Madisyn Pense led Farmington with 17 and Alexis Roach added 13.
PEA RIDGE 63, FARMINGTON 60 OVERTIME
Farmington^8^18^11^18^5^--^60
Pea Ridge^13^13^14^15^8^--^63
Farmington (19-5, 7-2): Madisyn Pense 7 0-0 17, Alexis Roach 4 5-9 13, Tori Kersey 4 0-1 8, Audrey Culpepper 3 2-2 8, Trinity Johnson 2 0-1 5, Joelle Tidwell 2 0-0 5, Makenna Vanzant 0 4-6 4. Totals 22 11-19 60.
Pea Ridge (20-4, 7-2): Hollyn Davis 5 9-13 21, Gabbi Adams 4 2-2 12, Blakelee Winn 4 2-2 11, Katelyn Swope 2 2-2 7, Maria Socha 2 2-2 7, Allisa Short 1 1-2 3, Kynley Burton 1 0-1 2, Aidan Dayberry 0 0-2 0. Totals 19 18-26 63.
3-Point Goals -- Farmington 5 (Pense 3, Tidwell, Johnson). Pea Ridge 7 (Adams 2, Davis 2, Socha, Swope, Winn).
Rebounds -- Farmington 26 (Vanzant 7), Pea Ridge 33. Assists -- Farmington 10 (Vanzant 5), Pea Ridge 11 (Adams 3, Winn 3). Steals -- Farmington 10 (Vanzant 4), Pea Ridge 7 (Davis 2, Winn 2). Fouls -- Farmington 24, Pea Ridge 15.
Sports on 02/06/2019