Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Girls Split Last 2 Games Of Year

Knowing they are head and shoulders above other teams they play may have been a problem recently for the Wolverettes.

When they played De Queen Tuesday, Feb. 11, the Prescott senior girls were stunned.

The team entered the game 11-0 in 7AA play and, for all involved, expected to come out of the game 12-0. This ain't what happened, folks.

The Lady Leopards handed Prescott its only conference loss with a 68-52 win.

However, the Wolverettes were playing without two starters, Gladies Gulley and Jessica Hildebrand, for the first time this season. Gulley was out with walking pneumonia, while Hildebrand had a sprained ankle.

The loss of Gulley meant at least 16 points the Wolverettes didn't score, while Hildebrand's absence left the team without a true point guard and five or six points and a similar number of assists.

Regardless, the Lady Leopards took full advantage of the short-handed Prescott crew.

De Queen opened the game with a 15-8 first quarter advantage. pushing this to a 33-22 halftime difference. By the end of three, Prescott had cut into the lead, a little, but still trailed 48-41.

Stacy Stockton led the Wolverettes with 22 points, while Laura Culpepper added 17. Leslie Hines nailed a pair of three-pointers in the outing.

Julie Tollett led the Lady Leopards with 16. Brooke Parsons netted 15 and Carmen Parrish stroked the nets for 14. The Lady Leopards also hit six three-pointers in the game.

The Wolverettes also lost the battle at the free throw line as they converted eight of 14, with De Queen netting 22 of 28.

De Queen was hot from beyond the arc as the Lady Leopards shot 60 percent from three-point land, and had a field goal percentage of 58 percent for the night. The Wolverettes shot 42 percent from the field.

Coach Cecily Butler said the team had a bad practice Tuesday morning and looked worried going into the game. "They had no intensity," she said.

PRESCOTT 41

DE QUEEN 32

Prescott's junior varsity team was able to gain a measure of revenge, even though they played the first game of the night, by beating De Queen 41-32.

The Lady Leopards started the game with a 13-5 margin, and held a slim 19-15 halftime lead.

The Wolverettes came alive in the third, almost shutting out the home team. When the buzzer sounded, the Wolverettes had taken the lead at 25-22, and didn't look back.

Everybody got into the act for Prescott, with Melissa Beavert leading the way with 12 points. DeShawn Phillips netted eight; Jessica Hendrix and Jennifer Adams followed with five each; Lakeshia Stuckey and Mandy Cox added four apiece, with Christy Martin scoring two and Jesna Cornelius with one.

Bennett led De Queen with 10 points.

PRESCOTT 78

BLEVINS 66

While the Wolverettes were back to full strength in this game, their heads weren't collectively in the contest for a full 32 minutes.

Nevertheless, Prescott was able to dump Blevins, 78-66, to end the regular season on a winning note and go 23-4 as they prepare for the district tournament this week.

Blevins was rocked early as the Wolverettes raced to a 27-5 first quarter lead. But the Prescott crew slacked off in the second period, allowing the Lady Hornets to think they had a chance. At the half, the score was 42-29.

The Lady Hornets also won the third frame, 19-16, to slice three more points off Prescott's lead, and make the score 58-35.

Gulley made her presence known in the paint as she poured in 22 points for the Wolverettes. Stockton followed suit with 20, while Culpepper stroked the nets for 18. Hildebrand made sure she was recognized by Blevins as she canned nine, including a three-pointer. Hines scored six, with two threes.

Both teams shot well from the charity stripe, with Prescott converting nine of 12, while Blevins hit eight of 11.

K. Jordan led all scorers with 31 as she found her stroke in the second quarter.

Stockton dished out 10 assists and was a perfect four of four at the stripe. Hildebrand netted four of five free throws, with three steals and four assists to her credit. Culpepper cleaned the glass seven times and Gulley recorded five steals.

A problem the Wolverettes had was in rebounding. They normally pull down 35 boards each game, but were limited to 21 against Blevins. The Lady Hornets yanked down 20 rebounds on their side.

Now, the Wolverettes will get ready for the district tourney. Butler plans on installing a few new goodies for teams in the tilt to look at, and to make sure those teams in the 8AA can't get a full read on her squad from film alone.

In Monday afternoon's practice, Butler and Hal Landrith, the senior boys coach, were installing a new defensive wrinkle for the Wolverettes. Once they get accustomed to running it, along with the added terminology, opposing teams will rue the day it was invented.

For those interested in learning what new defense has been added, make plans to visit Nashville Friday when the Wolverettes lock horns with some poor unfortunate victim.

The brackets weren't ready as of press time, so playing times are not known.