Hawks pull double upset at Farmington, girls 5-0 in conference

The cardiac Blackhawk basketball teams worked from separate scripts but both had the same happy ending as the girls defeated the defending state champion Farmington Cardinals 58-57 with the boys coming from way behind to knock off league leading and previously undefeated Farmington 64-63.

After a slow start, the girls took control of the game midway in the first quarter and led all the way until the host Cardinals tied the game at 57-all with 12 seconds left in the game. Senior Blakelee Winn provided the winning margin with a free throw with 5 seconds left and the Cards could not get off a good shot before the buzzer.

The boys trailed the entire game until a rally brought them back in the fourth quarter. Junior Jared Brewer hit a trey with 2 minutes left to give the Hawks their first lead at 61-60, then Brewer ripped a free throw with 15 seconds left to break a 63-63 tie, the winning point in the game.

Game reports:

Girls

Pea Ridge 58, Farmington 57

Things did not start well for the Blackhawks, turning the ball over four times to begin the contest with Farmington scoring twice inside to assume a 4-0 lead. However, the Hawks did not turn the ball over again until they after grabbed a 7-point lead, and after senior Ravin Cawthon scored twice under the goal to tie the score at 4-4. Pea Ridge would never trail again.

Junior Bella Cates broke the tie with a trey out of the left corner, and after Farmington hit another goal close in, senior Aidan Dayberry hit a 3-ball to put the Hawks out in front 10-6. The hosts then hit a layup and free throw to get back within 1, but Dayberry sank a hook shot for a 12-9 advantage. The Cards then sank a pair of free tosses, but consecutive shots from behind the arc by Dayberry and Cates pushed the Hawks firmly ahead 18-11.

The Hawks then lost the ball on three consecutive turnovers, but their fierce defense held the Cards to a single layup. Cates then hit her third trey to put Pea Ridge further ahead at 21-13. Getting the ball back with just three seconds left in the quarter, the Hawks pulled off a long run out pass that Pea Ridge tried to layup just before the buzzer. A Cardinal committed a foul on the shot with both free accurate throws shot after the buzzer to put Pea Ridge ahead 23-13 headed into the fourth quarter.

Starting out like the first quarter, the Hawks committed three straight turnovers, and with the hosts responding by scoring 9 straight points on two free throws, two layups and a trey, the Pea Ridge lead shrank to 23-22. Just like the end of the first quarter, Cates stepped up to drop another long distance bomb on the hosts to stop the rally and widen the lead, now at 26-22.

The Cards scored another layup but layups by Winn and junior Lauren Wright pushed the Hawks further ahead at 30-24. Pea Ridge then suffered three straight turnovers to the fierce Cardinal defense, but Pea Ridge responded in kind by forcing two turnovers on Farmington as the score remained static.

Sophomore Sydney Spears then scored on a rebound shot, with Cates pulling off a steal and layup, adding a free shot when fouled on the layup. Cates sank the freebie, to give Pea Ridge a 35-24 lead, their biggest yet. Both teams traded points with Winn hitting two free throws and Farmington a layup. After a flurry of turnovers by both teams, Winn shocked the home crowd by pulling off a steal then throwing in a field goal just before the buzzer to give the Hawks a 39-27 lead at the half.

Scoring slowed down in the third quarter, with the Hawks failing to hit a shot until the latter half of the period. The Cards, meanwhile, picked up twp field goals and two free throws to half the Hawk lead to 39-33.

Winn's 3-pointer stopped the Card streak, and after senior Hayley West answered a Farmington shot in close, the quarter ended with the Hawks still on top, 44-35.

Farmington laid one off the glass to start the final quarter, but Wright drilled a trey to put the Hawks up by 10 at 47-37. The Cards got another layup, but a Spears' rebound goal kept the lead at 10. A fired up Farmington team then scored a layup and three free throws to half the lead again with Pea Ridge leading 49-44.

The Cardinals then went to a very fierce defensive game, fouling the Hawks repeatedly for the rest of the game, hoping missed shots would get them over the hump. Farmington managed to score a trey and two layups over a 2-minute span, but Cawthon hit two free throws with Winn hitting four for four to keep Pea Ridge ahead 53-49 with two minutes left.

Farmington hit a goal to close to 2 at 53-51 but Pea Ridge answered with a goal to get it back to 4 at 55-51. The Cards then hit another layup with freshman Leah Telegemier canning a free throw as Pea Ridge led 56-53 with 57 seconds left. Farmington then dropped in a short jumper and fouled Wright on the other end with the junior guard making one shot for a 57-55 lead.

With 12 seconds to go, Farmington tied the score on a layup, but Winn's free throw at the end was the difference.

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Editor's note: Mark Humphrey contributed to this article.