SPORTS EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is part of an on-going series highlighting top sports stories for the 2010-2019 decade at Prairie Grove High School and its alumni.
PRAIRIE GROVE -- All the ingredients essential to winning a 4A State girls basketball championship came together during the 2009-2010 season at Prairie Grove.
Utilizing underclassmen for varsity paid big dividends with sophomore guard Michelle Lumsargis and freshman forward Justyne Huber combining for 15 points during a 58-40 State Class 4A quarterfinal victory over Malvern.
Coach Kevin Froud's cell phone lit up like a Christmas tree as excitement over a state finals appearance ran rampant throughout the community. Froud said he was starting to get carpal tunnel syndrome from returning so many text messages on the Monday before the State finals on Thursday.
Prairie Grove exploded out of a time-out using a 16-2 run to gain separation en route to defeating Malvern, 58-40, at Highland's A.L. Hutson Memorial Center on March 4, 2010.
Courtney Galloway and Julie Rutherford hit 3-pointers and Elysia Clement scored on the offensive glass as Prairie Grove surged to a 16-5 lead after one period of play.
Four Lady Tigers, Kendra Coyle, Morgan Abernathy, Lumsargis and Galloway scored in double figures as the A.L. Hutson Memorial Center showcased the best teams in Class 4A girls basketball with Highland playing host to the State tournament in 2010.
Prairie Grove started off sluggish after making the four-hour, 200-mile trek. With three minutes elapsed in the first the Lady Tigers didn't have any points.
The good news was they allowed only a single Malvern free throw in that time span.
Then came a time-out by Froud, who got his point across -- Prairie Grove needed to start scoring and they did. Prairie Grove held leads of 30-14 at halftime and 44-25 at the end of the third quarter.
Lumsargis holds Froud in high regard calling him "an absolutely amazing coach," who is the reason why she's in the profession. Lumsargis is now at Lincoln working as an assistant girls basketball coach. She graduated from Prairie Grove High School in 2012 and played in two state finals under Froud. Lumsargis did her internship at Lincoln serving as a volunteer assistant girls basketball coach for the 2017-2018 season and then was hired.
CLASS 4A STATE QUARTERFINAL 2010
Prairie Grove 58, Malvern 40
Malvern^5^9^11^15^--^40
Prairie Grove^16^14^14^14^--^58
Malvern (28-4): Corredur 8 2-5 18, Randall 3 6-9 12, McGill 1 2-4 4, Ayshia Walsh 2 0-0 4, Allen 0 1-2 1, Toney 0 1-2 1. Totals 14 12-22 40.
Prairie Grove (30-1): Courtney Galloway 2-8 4-6 10, Morgan Abernathy 3-8 2-4 10, Kendra Coyle 4-9 2-2 10, Michelle Lumsargis 3-4 2-2 10, Justyne Huber 1-5 5-5 7, Elysia Clement 2-3 2-2 6, Julie Rutherford 1-4 0-0 3, Alex Myers 1-3 0-0 2, Tori Thorton 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-45 17-21 58.
3-Point Goals -- Malvern 0, Prairie Grove 7-14 (Abernathy 2-2, Lumsargis 2-3, Galloway 2-6, Rutherford 1-1, Coyle 0-1, Thorton 0-1).
Rebounds -- Prairie Grove 18 (Huber 7). Assists -- Prairie Grove 11 (Abernathy 3). Steals -- Prairie Grove 7 (Abernathy 3, Coyle 3). Blocks -- Prairie Grove 9 (Clement 4, Abernathy 2, Coyle 2, Galloway). Turnovers -- Prairie Grove 10. Team fouls -- Malvern 19, Prairie Grove 17. Fouled out -- Allen.
Sports on 06/03/2020