Freshman point guard Morgan Vaughn returned to the Siloam Springs ninth-grade girls basketball team Monday after missing the last four games with a broken nose.
And while Vaughn only scored three points in Monday's game against Springdale Central, her return to the court gave the Lady Panthers a much needed lift as Siloam Springs snapped a four-game losing streak with a 43-36 win at Panther Activity Center.
"She kind of just makes us go," Siloam Springs head coach Rebecca Ault said of Vaughn. "She sees the court well. She makes pretty good decisions with the ball. She makes those around her better. ... Having her back was nice tonight."
Siloam Springs fell behind 12-6 after the first quarter, but the Lady Panthers got it turned around in the second quarter and began making moves for their comeback.
Hadlee Hollenback and Chloe Price hit shots to open the second quarter as Siloam Springs pulled within 15-10.
Shaylon Sharp hit a 3-pointer on the wing to close within 15-13. Kirsten Williams added a pair of free throws before the quarter was over and Siloam Springs trailed 19-15 at halftime.
Sharp split a pair of free throws to open the third quarter, and Hollenback scored inside as Siloam Springs trailed 21-18.
Vaughn connected on a 3-pointer at the top of the key to tie the game at 21 midway through the third quarter.
Sharp hit another 3-pointer to give the Lady Panthers a 24-21 lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Sharp hit a floater to make it 26-22, and a steal and score from Price gave the Lady Panthers a 28-22 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Hollenback and Williams opened the fourth quarter with buckets for a 32-27 lead, and Hollenback had a three-point play for a 35-29 lead. Price scored two straight times to extend the Lady Panthers' lead to 39-29 with 44 seconds left.
Price hit two free throws and had a runaway layup as time expired to set the final score.
Hollenback led Siloam Springs with 13 points, while Williams scored 10, Sharp nine and Price eight.
Central edged Siloam Springs 36-33 in the eighth-grade game. Kelsey Lewis led the Lady Panthers (2-11) with nine points while Price had seven.
Siloam Springs 43, Springdale Central 36
Springdale Central 12 6 3 14 -- 36
Siloam Springs 6 9 13 15 -- 43
Springdale Central: Feder 13, Vogel 12, Acosta 7, Lamendula 2, Burks 2.
Siloam Springs (10-8, 1-3): Hollenback 13, Williams 10, Sharp 9, Price 8, Vaughn 3.
Boys
Springdale Central 33, Siloam Springs 25
Siloam Springs raced out to a 12-6 lead after the first quarter, but the Panthers went scoreless in the second quarter and fell behind Springdale Central in the second half in an eventual 33-25 loss to the Warriors.
Even after the scoreless second, the Panthers still led 12-11 at halftime.
Central outscored the Panthers (5-12, 0-4) 9-6 in the third quarter to take a 20-18 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Warriors outscored the Panthers 13-7 in the fourth quarter.
Bairon Magana led the Panthers with nine points, while Diego Flores scored eight points.
Ben Buccheri scored 13 points to lead Springdale Central.
Springdale Central won the eighth-grade game 35-32. The eighth-grade team dropped to 6-7 overall.
Up next
The eighth- and ninth-grade boys host Springdale Southwest on Thursday, while the eighth- and ninth-grade girls travel to Springdale Southwest.
Sports on 01/28/2015