Late surge lifts Lady Blackhawks past Lady Wolves

Junior Blackhawk Cole Wright leapt for a 3-point shot Thursday night during the Blackhawks’ contest against Lincoln Wolves.
Junior Blackhawk Cole Wright leapt for a 3-point shot Thursday night during the Blackhawks’ contest against Lincoln Wolves.

From Staff Reports

Avery Dayberry scored 17 points and Jennifer Anthony added 14 points as Pea Ridge pulled away late to defeat Lincoln 49-43 in a girls 4A-1 Conference basketball game Thursday night.

4A-1 Conference

Girls

Pea Ridge 49, Lincoln 43

Lincoln^7^18^10^8^—^43

Pea Ridge^10^10^7^22^—^49

Lincoln (1-8, 0-2): Rothrock 13, Cummings 10, Howard 8, McConnell 8, Jones 3, Webb 1

Pea Ridge (5-5, 1-1): Dayberry 17, Anthony 14, Socha 8, Whately 4, West 2, Olson 2, Fletcher 2

Boys

Pea Ridge 50, Lincoln 30

Lincoln^5^10^4^11^—^30

Pea Ridge^12^18^14^6^—50

Lincoln (5-7, 0-2): Blankenship 14, Means 7, Swayne 5, Pomeroy 2, Duncan 2

Pea Ridge (7-3, 1-1): Hall 11, Wright 10, Caudill 8, Church 8, Holtgrewe 5, Johnson 5, King 2, Beckmann 1

Lincoln led 35-27 going to the fourth quarter, but the Lady Blackhawks started the final quarter with a 7-0 run and they closed out the final 1 minute, 35 seconds of the game with another 7-0 run.

"That late surge was great," Blackhawk coach Larry Walker said. "I told them at halftime if they came out and played hard in the second half, I thought we could wear them down at the end. We had some good defensive stands."

Dayberry scored 12 of her game-high 17 points in the second half, including nine points in the fourth quarter. Dayberry gave Pea Ridge the lead for good at 44-43 with a stickback to start the last Pea Ridge (5-5, 1-1 4A-1) run.

"Dayberry had been struggling, but she got in the gym and got some extra shots," Walker said. "It paid off."

Ashtyn Rothrock led Lincoln (1-8, 0-2) with 13 points while Kendra Cummings finished with 10 points for the Lady Wolves. Lincoln was 2 of 8 from the field and 2 of 6 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.

"I think we got a little tentative, and we missed some free throws when we needed free throws," said Lincoln coach Brian Davenport. "We played hard the entire game. We are right on the brink."

With 1:12 before halftime, Lincoln's Natalie Howard fell and hit her head on the the floor and the junior, who lost at least one tooth, was taken to a local hospital for observation. A stretcher was brought to the gym, but Howard walked to the ambulance with a neck brace on.

Pea Ridge made just one field goal in the first quarter, but the Lady Blackhawks had a 10-7 lead after making 7 of 8 free throws. Pea Ridge then opened the second quarter with a 6-0 run, including four straight points by Jennifer Anthony for a 16-7 lead.

Lincoln responded with an 18-4 run for a 25-20 lead at halftime. Howard scored eight points early in the run before being injured and the Wolves outscored the Lady Blackhawks 4-0 after her injury for the five-point lead at halftime.

Davenport said that Howard suffered a possible concussion.

"It wasn't a good injury," Davenport said. "She hit her chin on the floor and lost a tooth. She didn't want to get on that gurney. She is a super-tough kid and she will bounce back."

Boys

Pea Ridge 50, Lincoln 30

Lincoln scored the game's first five points, but Pea Ridge responded with a 12-0 run as the Blackhawks defeated the Wolves.

Pea Ridge led 30-15 at halftime and 44-19 going to the final quarter. Joey Hall led Pea Ridge (7-3, 1-1) with 11 points while Cole Wright added 10 points.

Garrett Blankenship paced Lincoln (5-7, 0-2) with 14 points.

Sports on 12/23/2015