Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wolverettes Go For Gold; Face Dover Pirates Saturday

It began at Gurdon High School Nov. 10 with a 75-52 whipping of the Lady Go- Devils.

It will end Saturday night against the Lady Pirates of Dover.

It is the championship game in the Class AAA State Basketball Tournament at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.

The last time a Wolverette team made it to the final dance was in 1971, when Prescott earned its first girl's title with a 70-68 overtime win against Alma in the finals.

Twenty-eight years is a long time between crowns, but the 1998-99 Wolverettes have been on a mission since the season opened.

While the team has three losses on its record, not one of the teams can honestly say it beat Prescott's Wolverettes.

Prescott earned its berth in the championship game with a 60-43 win over Lonoke's Lady Jackrabbits.

The Wolverettes were chasing these bunnies all over the court for the entire contest as it was win or go to softball and other spring sports.

Prescott took the toss, but turned the ball over. Lonoke took the ball downcourt for two.

This didn't set well with the Wolverettes as Angela Cossey returned the favor by burying a three.

The Lady Jacks spread their offense trying to open gaps in the Prescott defense. They showed some success at this early, but found the holes closed later on.

Lonoke fielded a taller team, but the Lady Jacks weren't ready for Prescott's attack. The Wolverettes, after being down 4-0 early, went on an 8-0 run to go up 8-5 with 3:59 showing, the Lonoke drought being stopped by a free throw.

The Lady Jacks were on their heels, while the Wolverettes went on the attack, outscoring Lonoke 9-4 for the final four minutes.

As time was running down in the opening period Prescott had the ball and was driving downcourt. However, Lonoke was called for a foul with 1.1 seconds on the clock.

The inbound pass went to Stacy Stockton at midcourt and was hurled toward the basket, only to be off to the left.

At the end of one, Prescott held a 17-9 lead.

Lonoke, though, wasn't ready to roll over and play dead. Teams don't make it to the semi-finals of the state tournament unless they earn their way there.

Neither team shot particularly well in the second quarter, but this could be attributed to the defense of the other.

With 6:27 showing the Wolverettes were in the bonus. They also controlled the pace of the game, never allowing Lonoke to play in a manner it was accustomed to.

Still, with 3:35 left in the half, Prescott was only up by nine at 20-11, with the Lady Jacks fighting to stay in the game.

Players from both sides paid dearly when trying to get shots in the paint as their opposition hammered them.

Prescott hounded Lonoke with full court pressure, forcing the Lady Jacks to take shots they didn't appear to want.

With 2:23 in the half, the lead was down to 22-15 and ended at 27-21.

Amanda Hodges left the game with three fouls as the officials kept control of the game in the first two periods.

The majority of Prescott's second period points came at the free throw line as the Lady Jacks were called for several fouls when a Wolverette was in the act of shooting.

The Wolverettes came alive in the third quarter, opening the second half with a quick 5-0 run on a deuce by Jessica Hendrix and a trey by Stockton.

With a double-digit lead, Prescott looked ready to run away with the game. However, the Wolverettes were hit with back-to-back fouls, with Hodges sitting down after getting her fourth foul.

Jeanie Haynie also went to the pines with four fouls, bringing in Misti Brown, who did yeoman's work defensively.

But, the Wolverettes could smell blood and were ready to post win number 30 on the season. With 3:13 left in the third, Prescott held a 39-25 lead.

The Wolverette offense was clicking with the team getting fast break attempts regularly after missed Lonoke shots.

Period three ended with Stockton nailing a running jumper at the buzzer, giving Prescott a 43-31 lead the team would never relinquish and one Lonoke would not challenge.

The smell of victory was in the air for Prescott as the final period got underway.

The Wolverettes knew what was on the line and what they would have to do to advance to the state finals. They did it.

Offensively, Prescott players were hammered, with the officials calling relatively few fouls against Lonoke. This, though, proved more harmful against the Lady Jacks than the Wolverettes as time was on their side.

Time being a factor led Lonoke's girls to foul Prescott players repeatedly to stop the clock. However, putting a Wolverette at the line is about the same as conceding a bucket.

Prescott made the Lady Jacks pay for fouling as the Wolverettes shot lights out at the charity stripe.

Lonoke was put in the position of having to shoot threes, unsuccessfully, while Prescott's girls continued knocking down free throw after free throw.

Cossey was at the line with 1:53 on the clock, followed by Haynie at 1:42. Cossey returned at the 1:22 mark, while Stockton got her turn with 0:37.9. Traci Graham's turn came with 0:22.7.

Stockton led the assault forces with 25 points, while Cossey knocked down 18, including three threes.

Burkes led Lonoke with 15.

The Wolverettes were 22 of 31 at the line, while Lonoke was eight of 14.