Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive |
Wolverettes Take Championship At SaratogaBY JOHN MILLERPublished Wednesday, January 14, 1998 in the Nevada County Picayune Last week in Saratoga was a basketball junky's dream come true. Seventeen high school games were played from Jan. 3-10 for the coveted title of champions of the Southwest Arkansas Invitational Tournament. The final two contests were well worth the price of admission. The boys final saw host Saratoga tangle with one of the top Class A teams in the state as the Gurdon Go- Devils brought their 32-minutes of hell defense with them. On the girls' side of the bracket, it was a classic match up between the Prescott Wolverettes and the Lady Devils of Gurdon. Two teams familiar with one another and with little love lost. However, there was plenty of basketball played before the finals were reached. In fact, play opened at 5 p.m. Jan. 3, with Mineral Springs whipping Emmet 61- 47. Emmet's Eagles were able to hang around in the first half, actually managing to take a 14-10 lead at the end of one, before being blown out in the second half. This was followed by the Mineral Springs senior girls doing some serious damage to Delight's Lady Bulldogs 70-38 in the second game. The night's final action saw the Saratoga Bulldogs chase Delight out of their back yard with a 67-41 win. Teams returned to Saratoga Monday to resume their battles. Nevada's senior girls locked horns with the home team, Saratoga. For three quarters, it appeared as though the Lady Dogs were going to trounce the Lady Blue Jays. However, in the final eight minutes, Gloria Johnson's crew put on a serious full court press and battled back to make a game of it. The Lady Dogs had held leads of 17-6 after one, 34-20 at the half, and 46-31 at the end of three. The final was 63-62. Saratoga had no problem solving the riddle of Nevada's 1-3-1 zone for three fourths of the contest. The Lady Jays, though, had their troubles in finding the bottom of the basket as shot after shot was just off, either too soft or too hard. The Nevada team also had difficulty hanging onto the ball, as turnovers, both forced and unforced, stalled the offensive attack. The Lady Jays came out fired up in the third quarter, picking up the pace of the contest, which had been slow for the first half. But, the Nevada team simply couldn't buy a basket in the third period. Something clicked as the fourth quarter started, though, and the Lady Jays came to life. Their full court press contained Saratoga's attack, while the offense heated up, scoring basket after basket off turnovers. However, winning the final eight minutes 31-17 wasn't enough, as the hole Nevada was in was too deep. Several times during the fourth period, the Lady Jays pulled to within one, but were never able to get over the hump and take the lead. This was followed by the Nevada senior boys tangling with the Genoa Dragons. The Jays took no chances and no prisoners as they cooled the Dragons 54-31. Nevada opened with a trey, a steal and free throw to go up 6-0 before Genoa knew what was going on. The Dragons showed plenty of patience, but the Jays came locked and loaded, firing the ball at the hole every chance they had. At the end of one, Nevada was up 23-6 and showed no signs of being merciful. A big lead though, can cause problems, and did for Nevada in the second period. The Jays became careless and sloppy, not working the ball as they had so well in the first quarter. This allowed Genoa to get back in the game and close the gap to 32-19 at the break. Apparently this was enough to wake the Jays, as they came out loose, relaxed and ready in the third period, all but putting the game on ice by taking a 43-24 lead into the fourth. Monday night's action ended with Gurdon's senior girls eliminating Genoa 51- 44. If the Lady Devils thought they would have an easy game with the Lady Dragons, they were wrong. In recent years, Genoa's senior girls have been little more than whipping posts for the opposition. Things have changed. In fact, Genoa gave Gurdon all it wanted and then some. The Lady Dragons led 9-8 at the end of one, primarily because the Lady Devils weren't hitting. Gurdon's full-court press didn't appear to bother the Lady Dragons, as they worked the ball downcourt with the pass instead of trying to dribble through. It was obvious both teams were rusty from the long Christmas holiday layoff, as neither could find the bottom of the net. The press started to have its effect in the second quarter, as the Lady Dragons began turning the ball over, but Gurdon was unable to convert its opportunities into points. As the period wound down, it looked as if Gurdon would take a four point lead to the lockers at the half. The Lady Devils were up 22-18 until one of the Lady Dragons launched an ICBM from midcourt, draining it as the buzzer sounded. The second half was as different from the first as day is to snow. Gurdon came out in a man defense, with Alicia Clayborn taking control of the offense, driving to the hole. This helped put the Lady Devils up 35-30 by the end of the period, but they learned Genoa wasn't going away. It also didn't help Gurdon's cause when Clayborn was benched with three fouls at the 5:23 mark of the period, not returning until the fourth quarter. The Lady Devils built an 11 point lead before a series of fouls kept Genoa at the line for uncontested shots and let the Lady Dragons hang around longer than they should. Still, Gurdon managed to hang on for the win. Action resumed Wednesday with another full slate, starting with the Prescott and Blevins boys. Had the Curley Wolves been able to shoot, the Hornets would have been sent home quickly, quietly and efficiently. This wasn't the case. In the first 20 seconds of the game, Prescott was called for two fouls. This may have helped slow the pace somewhat. The Wolves worked a zone defense, while Blevins made use of a man-to-man game. But, neither team could find the basket in the opening eight minutes, which ended with Prescott leading 10-9. The Wolves flashed signs of playing well at times, but followed this with senseless turnovers. Blevins was simply ineffective, but did manage a 5-2 run at the end of the second to lead 27-23 at the break. Prescott's problems continued in the third as the Wolves were unable to keep possession of the ball. Still, they wouldn't go away and trailed 39-35 as the final period began. Putting the ball in the hole plagued the Wolves in the fourth quarter, as they stole the ball repeatedly, but couldn't get a shot to fall. The Wolves fought hard, battling for rebounds, working for shots and forcing turnovers, but simply could not get the ball to fall. Blevins managed to hang onto its lead by hitting free throws down the stret Search | Nevada County Picayune by date | Gurdon Times by date |
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