PRAIRIE GROVE -- Ice cold shooting nullified an outstanding defensive performance, holding Pea Ridge star Blakelee Winn to 8 points as the Lady Tigers were eliminated, 45-39, from the District 4A-1 tournament.
Lurking in the shadows of the Tuesday, Feb. 18, season-ending loss for the Prairie Grove girls was the fact that Pea Ridge went 2:46 over the middle portion of the second quarter without a point. Winn didn't score until the 3:21 mark of the second period when she caught a lob on the low block.
The game was tied at 13-all at the end of the first quarter. Pea Ridge went up by seven but Prairie Grove countered with Jasmine Wynos' putback and one converting a 3-point play. Torie Price pushed the ball upcourt finding Arianna Harrel for a layup that drew Prairie Grove within 21-19.
Winn's bucket triggered a 9-2 Pea Ridge run capped by Allisa Short's 3-pointer allowing the Lady Blackhawks to pull away from a two-point game. Prairie Grove sophomore Trinity Dobbs ended the run by draining a trifecta from the top-of-the-key in the closing seconds to make it 30-24 at the half.
The Lady Tigers didn't match Pea Ridge's physical brand of defense in the third. Prairie Grove had no field goals in the period with Pea Ridge contesting every interior shot and a lot of contact around the basket. The Lady Blackhawks led 41-30 at the end of the third quarter.
The Lady Blackhawks began to rack up fouls, but when they reached the double bonus Pea Ridge coach Heath Neal called the official over during a time-out and the Lady Blackhawks played almost five minutes before another foul was called on them.
Prairie Grove coach Kevin Froud noted, "We held them to four (in the fourth), but we got to score. We'd come down and get some good looks. We'd hold them, but we couldn't score."
Pea Ridge made just 1-of-5 free throws in the fourth and their only field goal almost didn't stay down. Short's 3-pointer bounced out before falling back in, giving the Lady Blackhawks a 44-33 lead with 4:15 remaining.
Prairie Grove's 6-0 mini-run in the last 1:02 couldn't make up the deficit.
"We go almost two quarters and don't make any baskets. It's hard to win when you do that," Froud said. "Pea Ridge's defense had something to do with that, but we were getting shots. There were good shots. We had some open threes and some layups, but we just couldn't make them."
Wynos recorded a double-double for Prairie Grove with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Price chipped in 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Dobbs had 7 points and 7 rebounds.
Short was the only player in double figures with 16 points for Pea Ridge, which advanced to a quarterfinal game versus Berryville on Wednesday.
Pea Ridge 45, Prairie Grove 39
Pea Ridge^13^17^11^4 -- 45
Prairie Grove^13^11^6^9 -- 39
Prairie Grove (10-17): Jasmine Wynos 2-9 8-9 12, Torie Price 3-8 1-2 10, Trinity Dobbs 2-17 2-2 7, Ella Faulk 1-2 1-2 3, Arianna Harrel 1-1 0-0 2, Logan Meadors 1-1 0-0 2, Abby Preston 0-3 1-3 1, Charity Stearman 0-6 1-2 1, Alex Torres 0-1 1-2 1, Olivia Kestner 0-2 0-1 0. Totals 10-50 15-23 39.
Pea Ridge (20-7): Allisa Short 4 5-6 16, Blakelee Winn 4 0-1 8, Aidan Dayberry 2 1-3 5, Ravin Cawthon 2 0-0 5, Hayley West 2 0-0 5, Josie Goldberg 1 1-1 3, Lauren Wright 1 1-4 3. Totals 16 8-15 45.
3-point Goals -- Prairie Grove 4-22 (Price 3-7, Dobbs 1-9, Preston 0-2, Stearman 0-2, Wynos 0-2). Pea Ridge -- 5 (Short 3, West, Wright).
Rebounds -- Prairie Grove 33 (Wynos 11). Assists -- Prairie Grove 9 (Dobbs 3). Steals -- Prairie Grove 4 (Wynos, Price, Stearman, Faulk). Blocks -- Prairie Grove 0. Turnovers -- Prairie Grove 13.
Sports on 05/20/2020