A 13-0 run by the Providence Lady Patriots in the middle of the second quarter erased a seven-point McDonald County lead and sparked the Lady Patriots to a 53-46 win on Feb. 10 at Providence Academy in Rogers, Ark.
McDonald County fell behind 7-2 to start the game but bounced back to take an 18-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.
"We couldn't have played a better first quarter," said coach Blake Short. "We shot the ball lights out. That's the best we played offensively all year."
After the teams traded free throws to begin the second quarter, McDonald County's Madison Hall hit a three pointer to give the Lady Mustangs a 22-15 lead.
But the Lady Patriots hit five consecutive free throws on the way to scoring 13 straight points to take a 28-22 lead. McDonald County's Ragan Wilson hit a short jumper to beat the halftime buzzer to cut the margin to 28-24 at intermission.
The teams traded baskets to start the third quarter before back-to-back three pointers by the Lady Patriots gave Providence a 41-31 lead entering the fourth period.
Providence stretched its lead to 15 points midway through the final period before McDonald County scored the final eight points of the game.
"We had a couple of dry spells, but we kept battling," Short said. "That's a really good team that has beaten the top team in our conference (Mount Vernon) by double digits. They're very good. Give them credit -- they hit some big shots and made some big plays. Overall, we attacked and made good plays for the most part. We played well without Trish (Tricia Wattman out with injury). We did a lot of good things."
Hall finished with 10 points to lead a balanced McDonald County scoring attack. Caitlynn Sedillos added nine points followed by Wilson with eight points, Samantha Frazier and Meagan Mills seven each and Cloee Helm five.
East Newton
East Newton held the McDonald County Lady Mustangs scoreless in the third quarter on the way to a 38-34 win Monday night at MCHS.
The Lady Patriots trailed 14-11 midway in the second quarter before going on a 13-1 run, including a 4-0 advantage in the third quarter, to take a 24-15 lead into the fourth quarter.
East Newton stretched the margin to 11 points at three different times in the final period, but Hall hit four three pointers in the quarter to keep the Lady Mustangs in the game.
Hall finished with 13 points to lead McDonald County followed by Frazier and Tricia Wattman with eight points each, Cloee Helm two and Sedillos, Mills and Wilson one each.
McDonald County claimed a 27-15 win in the junior varsity game. Alexia Kitlen led the Lady Mustangs with eight points followed by Rita Santillan with six, Aspen Bowman five, Mattie Leach three, Leslie Yousey and Karen Gasca two each and Jordan Witt one.
The Lady Mustang varsity falls to 7-15 entering its Feb. 16 game against Mount Vernon at MCHS. The junior varsity game begins at 6 p.m. followed by the varsity game.
Sports on 02/16/2017