PRAIRIE GROVE -- Prairie Grove dodged several Lady Pioneer bullets on baskets that wouldn't go down and one called off by traveling as the Lady Tigers claimed a 36-32 overtime win Friday.
Lady Tiger sophomore guard Trinity Dobbs took over the game scoring 7 of her game-high 17 points in overtime to lift Prairie Grove to a 36-32 win over Gentry Friday.
"I don't know if she knows how good she could be. She's a great athlete and a great girl and has got a good shot. I'd like her to shoot it a little bit more, but she could be a special player if she gets it all working together," said Lady Tiger coach Kevin Froud.
Clutch Basket
The Lady Tigers dodged a bullet at the end of regulation and more in overtime. Gentry put forth an effort but couldn't get shots to fall in crucial situations.
"It was one of those fight, grind-it-out games. We had some adversity. We had one starter home with the strep-throat and the flu so we were down one player and our bench came in and made some shots," Froud said. "I thought Arianna Harrel played real good, played within herself, doing what she needs to do. Abby Preston hit some shots. It was just a good team win."
Gentry center Emily Toland powered in an offensive rebound putting the Lady Pioneers ahead, 29-27, with 34.5 seconds to go. Prairie Grove quickly advanced the ball into the front-court where Froud took time-out.
The Lady Tigers in-bounded from the side and executed beautifully on Colors Day with Dobbs snapping a 10-feet runner on the baseline knotting the score at 29-29.
Gentry Missed Layup
Gentry took time-out then in-bounded at the far end. At that juncture Prairie Grove had only committed 3 teams fouls and Froud wisely used that to his advantage. Charity Stearman fouled twice by design forcing Gentry to in-bound in the back-court and burning the clock down to 4.1 seconds.
Gentry coach Toby Tevebaugh set up a play in the huddle during a time-out with Ariel Nix breaking long. She took an in-bounds pass on the fly but missed a layup. Prairie Grove junior Jasmine Wynos collared the rebound as time expired in regulation sending the contest into overtime.
"We had an off night offensively," Tevebaugh said. "We've had some injuries. We're still trying to piece things together. We've just got our big girl (Toland) back. This is her third game. She was off."
Trailing In Overtime
Prairie Grove overcame a 35-32 deficit 24 seconds into overtime when Gentry's Ahrya Reding yanked down an offensive rebound. The Lady Pioneers reset their offense and Reding launched a 3-pointer from three feet beyond the top-of-the-key that zipped through the nets giving Gentry its last lead.
At the other end Prairie Grove got the look Froud wanted with Wynos driving to the basket but Toland proved equal to the challenge and blocked the shot. An all-out battle ensued for the rebound which was controlled by Prairie Grove. Dobbs knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing tying the game again.
"We made some defensive breakdowns and you know this game involves luck sometimes. They hit a big three to start the overtime. We didn't get the rebound and we come down and matched it. That's something we've been having trouble doing this year and maybe this will be a turnaround for us," Froud said.
Momentum Changes
Going the other way Nix drove hard to the goal but her twisting, off-balance basket was disallowed because of a traveling call.
Prairie Grove took possession and again pounded the offensive boards like gangbusters with 6-0 sophomore center Olivia Kestner drawing a foul in the act of shooting. She sank a free throw to push Prairie Grove in front, 33-32, then controlled a defensive rebound when Nix once more got to the basket but couldn't convert.
"That was huge with Olivia getting the rebound and making a free throw and just getting some steals. There were a lot of unforced turnovers tonight on both teams," Froud said. "I'm hoping that she'll gradually start learning the speed of the game and working on herself to get a little faster cause she's a young lady that has a lot of potential, but she's going to have to push herself real hard to reach her potential."
Free Throws Seal Win
Dobbs maintained her dribble against intense pressure eventually drawing a foul. She stepped up and sank both ends of a 1-and-1 expanding Prairie Grove's lead to three, at 35-32.
Nix missed a deep three that would have tied the game and Prairie Grove rebounded. The Lady Tigers milked the clock down to 7.2 seconds before Gentry was able to get a foul called. The foul put Prairie Grove into the double bonus and Dobbs swished the second after the first bounced out.
Gentry got a decent 3-point shot off. However it wouldn't go down and Dobbs pulled down the rebound as overtime ended with Prairie Grove earning a hard-fought, 36-32, Colors Day victory over the Lady Pioneers.
Gentry (15-4, 1-4 4A-1) was playing their third game of the week due to a rescheduled game and the loss was their fourth in-a-row prompting the girls to call for a team meeting on Monday.
"We've hit a skid. Our conference is so tough. That has something to do with it," Tevebaugh said. "I don't want to make excuses, but we looked a little hungover in practice this morning. Tonight we just looked dead."
Prairie Grove 36, Gentry 32 (Overtime)
Gentry^7^8^6^7^3^ -- ^32
Prairie Grove^5^11^8^5^7^--^36
Prairie Grove (8-10, 2-3): Trinity Dobbs 4 6-8 17, Jasmine Wynos 2 6-6 8, Olivia Kestner 0 2-4 4, Zoe Hubbs 1 2-2 4, Abby Preston 1 0-0 3. Totals 8 16-20 36.
Gentry: (15-4, 1-4): Emily Toland 3 4-4 10, Ahrya Redding 2 2-2 8, Meledy Owens 2 0-0 6, Jaiden Wilmouth 2 0-0 5, Ariel Nix 1 0-0 3. Totals 10 6-6 32.
3-Point Goals -- Prairie Grove 2 (Dobbs, Preston ). Gentry 6 (Redding 2, Owens 2, Nix, Wilmouth).
Sports on 01/22/2020