Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Prescott drops two to De Queen to open season's second half

Prescott's senior teams had a rough first game back from the Christmas holidays as both fell to De Queen.

The Wolverettes played close all night but fell 45-40, while the boys did well in the first half, but mined iron in the second half, succumbing 63-49 to the Leopards.

Wolves 49

Leopards 63

About the only thing the Wolves won on the night was the opening tip. From there, Prescott's senior boys were on the short end of the score, except at halftime when it was tied at 24-24.

Both teams played at a quick pace, getting the ball up and down the court, but the Wolves had fits trying to buy a basket. It took nearly three minutes before Prescott put its first points on the board.

Still, the Wolves battled back and were within one at 7-6 with 3:51 left in the opening frame. Unfortunately, the Leopards outscored their hosts 6-2 for the remainder of the period to take a 13-8 lead to the second period.

Both teams were in the bonus situation to start second quarter, which saw the Leopards score first. Once again, the Wolves fought back and cut De Queen's lead to 15-12 with 5:48 showing on the clock.

The remainder of the quarter was back and forth with neither squad able to maintain a consistent scoring attack. Prescott missed several shots at point-blank range, along with a number of free throws. Both proved to be costly in the long run.

Luther Steuart, though, took it on his shoulders to put the Wolves in the game, fighting to get the ball in the paint and forcing the Leopards to either block his shot or foul him.

Prescott was down two, 24-22 when the buzzer sounded ending the first half of play, but the action wasn't quite over as the officials had called a foul against De Queen. Two free throws knotted the score at 24-24 as both teams went to the lockers.

It was all Leopards in the second half as De Queen went on a 7-0 run to open the third quarter. Try as the Wolves might, Prescott never got closer than two, 35-33, the rest of the night.

Again, missed shots from close range, missed free throws, and the ball bouncing, almost as if by radar, to Leopard players on missed shots proved to be too much for the home team.

Period three ended with the Wolves on the wrong end of a 40-33 score.

The final eight minutes began the same way the three prior ones did  with De Queen scoring first.

Prescott battled back, getting close at 45-41, only to see the Leopards pull away. From the 5:04 mark of the fourth period, the Wolves were outscored 18-8.

The Leopards did better at the charity stripe than Prescott, hitting nine of 14. The Wolves hit 11 of 24 from the line.

Steuart led Prescott with 19 points, with Mitchell Taylor chipping in 12.

Mike Polke led all scorers with 31 on the night. Kirby Atkins followed with 17.

Wolverettes 40

Lady Leopards 45

The Wolverettes won the opening tip, but turned the ball over on a travel to kick off the game. Unfortunately, this is how the rest of the contest went as De Queen posted a 45-40 win.

The Lady Leopards opened scoring with a three-pointer with 6:49 to go in the first. Prescott had control problems, showing signs of first-game-back rust.

Still, it was a nip-and-tuck game with Prescott trailing 11-9 at the end of one.

The Wolverettes tied the score at 11-11 with 6:20 left in the half. From there, both teams found scoring nearly impossible as neither could hit the bottom of the bucket.

Halftime arrived with the Lady Leopards up one at 17-16.

The Wolverettes took the lead, 18-17, to open the third, but couldn't maintain the momentum. Most of the game was played on De Queen's half of the court as the ball seemed to favor the Lady Leopards on rebounds. This was coupled with the fact De Queen moved the ball around a lot to keep it away from Prescott.

At the end of the Wolverettes were on the short end of a 33-26 score.

Fouls dominated the final period, slowing play to a crawl. Prescott fought back, getting close at 40-38 with 2:09 left, but were unable to get over the hump and take the lead.

Neither team shot free throws well. Prescott was 10 of 21, while De Queen hit 18 of 34.

Dolores Steuart led all scorers with 20 for Prescott.

Tabitha Mitchell paced De Queen with 14.