SPRINGDALE -- In a rare occurrence both teams got technical fouls for scorebook infractions, but Prairie Grove's came during a Shiloh Christian run.
Prairie Grove trailed 20-16 and prepared to in-bound when a 6-point swing occurred that became instrumental in helping Shiloh Christian pull away during a 51-41 loss for the Lady Tigers on Saturday, Feb. 13, during District 4A-1 Tournament play.
The Lady Tigers were assessed a technical and Shiloh's Hailey Tunnell made 1-of-2 free-throws, then delivered a dagger in the form of a 3-point shot on the next play with possession reverting to the Lady Saints because of the technical. At that juncture, Prairie Grove fell behind, 24-16, and never recovered.
It mattered little that Shiloh too got tagged with a technical foul, also for a scorebook infraction. This transpired late in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach and factored only in that Prairie Grove senior Gracie Foster finished the final game of her career by draining both technical shots, then scored in the paint to log 5 points.
The Lady Tigers had trouble matching up against Shiloh's 6-3 senior Anna McCredy, who led all scorers with 19 points. She also had 9 rebounds helping the the Lady Saints to a 39-25 advantage on the boards and accounted for several of Shiloh's 7 blocked shots in the contest.
Prairie Grove had an early 4-2 lead on a pair of Trinity Dobbs free-throws and Charity Stearman's pull-up jumper. The Lady Saints then went on a 12-4 run to open up a 14-8 lead half-a-minute into the second quarter.
The Lady Tigers countered with an 8-2 run of their own earning a 16-16 tie. Ella Faulk started the run with an aggressive drive into the key, Torie Price knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing and Chloie Hillian took a pass from Dobbs to convert a 2-on-1 fast-break.
Prairie Grove couldn't break the cycle and Shiloh came back with a 15-4 run over the latter 4:05 of the second highlighted aided by the technical followed by consecutive threes from Tunnell and Delaney Roller to enjoy a 31-20 halftime advantage.
Kenleigh Elder contributed 4 points in the last minute of the half for the Lady Tigers. The sophomore forward banked an offensive rebound high off-the-glass and later hit a short baseline jumper when Dobbs found her open.
Shiloh steadily pulled away in the third quarter by outscoring the Lady Tigers 13-6. Tunnell and Roller finished with 11 points apiece for the Lady Saints,
A 15-7 surge in the fourth quarter wasn't enough to keep Prairie Grove alive. The Lady Tigers began the fourth trailing 44-26 and the loss ended the girls basketball season for Prairie Grove (7-14, 2-9).
Shiloh advanced to a District 4A-1 quarterfinal against defending Class 4A champion, Farmington. That game was delayed until Monday, Feb. 22 due to snowstorms across the region last week.
Stearman made 3-of-4 field goal attempts and led Prairie Grove with 8 points. Dobbs had 7 points and 6 rebounds.
Shiloh Christian 51, Prairie Grove 41
Prairie Grove812615--41
Shiloh Christian1219137--51
Shiloh Christian (17-6, 6-4): Anna McCredy 7 5-6 19, Hailey Tunnell 4 1-2 11, Delaney Roller 2 5-6 11, Lauren Wyand 1 1-2 4, Acie Thurlby 1 1-2 4, Ryli Russ 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 13-18 51.
Prairie Grove (7-14, 2-9): Charity Stearman 3-4 1-2 8, Trinity Dobbs 2-12 3-4 7, Ella Faulk 3-8 0-0 6, Torie Price 2-4 0-0 5, Gracie Foster 1-2 3-4 5, Kenleigh Elder 2-8 0-2 4, Arianna Harrell 0-2 2-2 2, Olivia Kestner 1-2 0-0 2, Chloie Hillian 1-3 0-0 2, Zoe Hubbs 0-1 0-0 0, Brianna Saldana 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-47 9-14 41.
3-Point Goals -- Prairie Grove 2-8 (Stearman 1-1, Price 1-1, Dobbs 0-1, Harrel 0-1, Faulk 0-2, Elder 0-2), Shiloh Christian 6 (Tunnell 2, Roller 2, Thurlby, Wyand).
Rebounds -- Shiloh Christian 39, Prairie Grove 25 (Elder 6). Assists -- Shiloh Christian 11, Prairie Grove 2 (Dobbs, Faulk). Steals -- Shiloh Christian 12, Prairie Grove 7 (Dobbs 2, Price 2). Blocks -- Shiloh Christian 7, Prairie Grove 1 (Dobbs), Turnovers -- Prairie Grove 19.