Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

PRESCOTT 74

OZARK 63 The Wolverettes earned their shot against Lonoke by gaining a measure of revenge against Ozark's Lady Hillbillies.

Last season, Ozark sent Prescott packing from the state tourney. This year, the Wolverettes returned the favor.

Early on it appeared as though Prescott was going to blow the Lady Hillbillies out.

At the start of the game, the two squads swapped baskets.

The Wolverettes were ready to run and gun, pushing the pace to their favorite level full speed.

At the 4:45 mark, Prescott led 9-6, with Graham heating up from beyond the arc, nailing threes almost at will when left open.

Two minutes later the Wolverette lead was 18-10.

On a fast break, the Wolverette showed their ball handling skills as Stockton hit Cossey, who tipped the ball to Graham for two.

Ozark learned another valuable lesson in this game don't leave anyone wearing maroon open from beyond the perimeter. If a Wolverette had any clearing, the ball was launched with deadly accuracy.

The Wolverette onslaught rattled Ozark with period one ending with a 24-12 score.

The second quarter opened with Prescott called for walks on its first trips downcourt, while Ozark managed a three.

While going for a rebound, Stockton was knocked down and appeared to injure an ankle. It turned out she caught a knee to her thigh, causing a deep bruise.

With the officials calling the game tighter, Prescott got a bit out of sync, giving Ozark a chance to get back into the game.

The Lady Hillbillies cut the lead to three at 28-25 with 3:57 left in the half, and looked like they wanted to pull off another upset.

This didn't go over well with Prescott as the Wolverettes popped two quick buckets to go up 32-25.

The Wolverettes began attacking the board more and showing their half-court press.

Though the Prescott defense denied clean shots, the ball bounced, as if guided, to Ozark players, giving them second chances.

Once the Wolverettes found their range offensively, they went into full attack mode to go up 39-27 at the break.

Ozark made it tough on Prescott to open the second half, as the Lady Hillbillies went on an 8-0 run at the start of the third to cut the score to 39-35.

The Prescott offense was sluggish and unable to get in gear at all, while Ozark worked the perimeter and fired bullet passes into the paint for easy buckets.

At the 3:38 point, the game was tied and the momentum heavily favoring Ozark.

Haynie left the game at 2:01 with her fourth foul and there was much doubt in the minds of Wolverette fans, as could be heard from the stands.

However, the doubt never reached the hearts of the Wolverette players as they dug a little deeper and turned the heat up a lot hotter.

With time running down, Graham laid the ball in off a fast break to put Prescott up 54- 49.

This was all it took to spark the Wolverette offense as there was nothing to lose and everything to win in the final eight minutes.

The final period opened with both teams connecting for three-pointers. Ozark managed to hang around and tied the game at 58-58 with 4:18 left.

Little did the Lady Hillbillies know they only had five points left in their offense for the rest of the game.

Prescott scored four points in the next 17 seconds, followed by Hodges hitting one of two free throws. Though her second was off, Cossey pulled down the rebound, putting it back in for two.

For all intents and purposes, this series was the end for Ozark.

The game became one of Ozark fouling and Prescott converting free throws primarily Hodges.

With the outcome obvious in the final minute of play, Prescott brought the ball across the time line and went into a stall. Graham, Stockton, Cossey and Hodges played catch for a while, before Stockton stopped near midcourt and held the ball until the buzzer sounded.

Then came the joyous shouts as the team realized it was headed to Pine Bluff for the title shot.

The Wolverettes knocked down 21 of 26 free throws, while Ozark hit nine of 11.

Graham led the way for the win with 28 points, including two threes. Cossey was next with 15, along with four treys. Stockton pitched in with 14, while Hodges added 13.

The Lady Hillbillies were led by Burkes with 15.