A work in progress

Lady Panthers fight off Prairie Grove

Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader
Siloam Springs sophomore Brooke Smith brings the ball up the floor Monday against Prairie Grove. The Lady Panthers picked up their season win of the season 47-35.
Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader Siloam Springs sophomore Brooke Smith brings the ball up the floor Monday against Prairie Grove. The Lady Panthers picked up their season win of the season 47-35.

PRAIRIE GROVE -- It was an up-and-down night Monday for the Siloam Springs girls basketball team, but it still ended in a double-digit road victory.

The Lady Panthers overcame slow starts to open both halves and a tough night shooting to defeat Prairie Grove 47-35 at Tiger Arena.

Siloam Springs hit 16 of its 36 shots from the field, but only 1 of 9 from behind the 3-point line. The Lady Panthers (2-0) also hit 12 of 20 from the free-throw line and had 17 turnovers.

"First it's always good to get a road win, but tonight showed that we didn't play as smoothly as we did in the first ballgame," said Siloam Springs coach Tim Rippy. "It was a struggle out there to score, and part of that is credit to Prairie Grove -- good defense. But we didn't finish well tonight and we didn't hit the percentage of free throws that we'd like to hit, so there's a lot of things for us to still work on obviously. You know it's early, and I told them I'm proud of them for gutting out a win that wasn't necessarily pretty. But at the same time there's a good quality in being able to gut one out early in the year like that on the road."

Prairie Grove took advantage of a cold Siloam Springs start in the first quarter to take an 8-4 lead, but Siloam Springs began to heat up as the quarter ended to take a 12-9 lead.

Senior guard Quincy Efurd hit a short jump shot and Brooke Ross scored inside as Siloam Springs took the lead for good at 9-8.

Ross, a sophomore forward, got going in the second quarter with a three-point play, and junior Reina Tiefel scored inside for a 17-11 lead.

The Lady Panthers then started clicking as sophomore Brooke Smith, Efurd and senior Sydney Moorman all scored from the outside. Moorman knocked down a 3-pointer later in the half and Ross scored inside, followed by a basket from junior Hannah Riley as Siloam Springs led 32-16 at halftime.

The Lady Panthers led by as many as 19 points in the second half when Smith scored on a putback to give Siloam Springs a 35-16 lead.

Prairie Grove answered with a 14-2 run, spurred on by the play of junior guard Trinity Dobbs, who scored 11 of the points.

Dobbs scored seven straight as the Lady Tigers cut the lead to 35-23. Siloam Springs also missed some layups and turned the ball over in that span as well.

"We talked about it at half," Rippy said. "We wanted to come out faster and we didn't do it. We didn't execute it. Turnovers are something we've got to get better at."

Smith stopped the Prairie Grove surge with a basket, but Dobbs answered with a pair of buckets and Ella Faulk hit a 3-pointer.

"They're patient on offense," Rippy said of Prairie Grove. "We don't get as many possessions as we do in a normal game. Because of that, if they're making their shots on fewer possessions, it keeps it closer than what we would like to be. When they're making shots, they're very tough to beat. We were fortunate tonight. I think we did a pretty good job on the defensive glass, I'll have to look at the tape to see our boxouts. We did a pretty good job of controlling the glass, and that was what allowed us to pull away."

Leading 37-30, Siloam Springs closed the third quarter on a 4-0 run as Ross and Efurd both sank a pair of free throws.

The fourth quarter saw Siloam Springs extend its lead back out to 15 points after a pair of baskets from Smith and Ross. Another 3-pointer from Faulk cut the lead to 45-35, but Tiefel answered to set the final score.

The Lady Tigers turned the ball over seven times in the fourth quarter.

Dobbs finished with 18 points to lead Prairie Grove.

"Trinity Dobbs is going to be one of the best players in our conference," said Prairie Grove coach Kevin Froud. "If we can get some of the other ones who got some ability to help her out and hit some shots when they're open and take care of the ball, we'll be OK. I mean I like their effort tonight, but having a lull in the second quarter really killed us. That second quarter, the last five minutes and not making plays and not making shots really cost us."

Ross led Siloam Springs with 14 points, while Tiefel and Smith each had nine and Moorman and Efurd each with six. Riley had two points and Mia Hevener one.

"They've got good size," Froud said. "That number 20 (Smith), she's going to be a great player. They're a hard matchup. They can handle the ball."

Siloam Springs returns to action Thursday at Rogers High for a benefit game. The Lady Panthers are at home Tuesday against Bentonville West.

Siloam Springs 47, Prairie Grove 35

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Prairie Grove^9^7^14^5^--^35

Siloam Springs (2-0): Ross 14, Smith 9, Tiefel 9, Efurd 6, Moorman 6, Riley 2, Hevener 1.

Prairie Grove (0-3): Dobbs 18, Faulk 6, Price 5, Harrel 2, Hobbs 2, Kestner 2.

Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader
Siloam Springs junior Halle Hernandez defends Prairie Grove's Torie Price during Monday's game at Prairie Grove.
Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader Siloam Springs junior Halle Hernandez defends Prairie Grove's Torie Price during Monday's game at Prairie Grove.
Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader
Siloam Springs junior Reina Tiefel drives to the basket as Prairie Grove's Zoe Hobbs defends during Monday's game in Prairie Grove. The Lady Panthers defeated the Lady Tigers 47-35.
Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader Siloam Springs junior Reina Tiefel drives to the basket as Prairie Grove's Zoe Hobbs defends during Monday's game in Prairie Grove. The Lady Panthers defeated the Lady Tigers 47-35.