PRAIRIE GROVE -- Winning the District 4A-1 girls basketball tournament championship in February at Prairie Grove became the first step towards Farmington's undefeated postseason run.
The Lady Cardinals enjoyed a bye into the district semifinals and automatic berth into the 4A North Regional by virtue of a regular season in which the Farmington girls went 12-0 in league play. That was important in a tough league that saw three teams (Farmington, Harrison and Pea Ridge) advance to the state tournament and two reach the state quarterfinals.
4A-1 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
at Prairie Grove
Monday, Feb. 17
Prairie Grove 53, Shiloh Christian 46 (Girls)
Harrison 65, Gentry 51 (Boys)
Tuesday, Feb. 18
Pea Ridge 45, Prairie Grove 39 (Girls)
Prairie Grove 54, Harrison 48 (Boys)
Huntsville 52, Gentry 39 (Girls)
Berryville 44, Gravette 28 (Boys)
Wednesday, Feb. 19
Pea Ridge 52, Berryville 51 (Overtime) (Girls)
Prairie Grove 44, Huntsville 32 (Boys)
Gravette 44, Huntsville 39 (Girls)
Berryville 52, Farmington 35 (Boys)
Thursday, Feb. 20
Farmington 51, Pea Ridge 39 (Girls)
Pea Ridge 40, Prairie Grove 28 (Boys)
Harrison 42, Gravette 26 (Girls)
Berryville 64, Shiloh Christian 46 (Boys)
Saturday, Feb. 22
Girls third-place Pea Ridge 35, Gravette 21
Boys third-place Prairie Grove 59, Shiloh Christian 32
Girls championship - Farmington 54, Harrison 41
Boys championship - Pea Ridge 68, Berryville 56
Farmington met and defeated both of them in the tournament tangling with Pea Ridge first in the semifinals and winning, 51-39, then holding off a strong Harrison team, 54-41, in the finals.
On April 6, Farmington and Star City were declared co-champions by the Arkansas Activities Association when the state basketball finals canceled. This week the Enterprise-Leader reviews the girls tournament looking back at what became the last local postseason competition of the 2019-2020 school year with spring sports suspended and eventually canceled as part of efforts to restrict the spread of the coronavirus.
The school district and community of Prairie Grove held a first-class tournament spread out over the course of a week. The hospitality room was well staffed and stocked with delicious food as well as drinks providing refreshment for many tournament attendees such as Greenland assistant girls basketball coach Zach Tenberge, whose appetite returned to him, after undergoing surgery in December and enduring cancer treatments; and a thirsty Harrison School Resource officer looking for a bottled water to take with him on the ride home.
Sports on 05/20/2020