The Batesville Lady Pioneers and Pioneers returned home Friday night for a 5A East conference doubleheader taking on the Nettleton Lady Raiders and Raiders in senior high action.
In the opener, the Lady Pioneers put together their most complete game of the season taking the Lady Raiders to the very edge throughout the ballgame. In a wild first quarter both teams would light up the scoreboard with the Lady Raiders leading 19 to 18. In the second, the Lady Pioneers would continue their hot start and would outscore Nettleton leading 33 to 29 at halftime.
The Lady Raiders would answer back in the third quarter as heading into the final frame, 45 to 42. In a back and forth fourth quarter, the free throw line would ultimately decide the ballgame as despite ten points from senior Taylor Rush the Lady Raiders would defeat the Lady Pioneers 60-54.
Leading the Lady Pioneers in scoring was Rush with a game high 27 points. Joining Rush in double digits was senior Olivia Everetts with 12. Adding to the Lady Pioneers final total was senior Emily Harrison with 8, junior Sophie Poole with three, sophomore Salice Speed and senior Anna Clair Ezell would add two, and junior Abby Hurley would contribute another point.
The nightcap of the evening was just as wild as the opener as the Pioneers would look to split the night for Pioneer Nation taking on the Raiders. Following the same formula as the girls game, the two teams would put up 47 points in the first quarter alone with the Pioneers leading 26 to 21.
Neither team would grab an edge in the second quarter as the Pioneers would lead 41 to 36 at the half. In the third, the Raiders would tighten up the defense, outscoring the Pioneers by five and tying up the ball game with the final eight minutes to be played. In a back and forth slugfest of a game, the lead would change multiple times and in the final seconds, the Raiders would knock down a game-winning three defeating the Pioneers 67 to 64.
Leading the Pioneers in scoring was senior JT Morgan who would miss most of the first quarter with a leg injury but would return to tally 16 points. Joining Morgan in double digits were seniors Logan McSpadden and Wes Lange with 13 and 10 points respectively. Sophomore Matthew Hendrix would add nine points, fellow sophomores Kade Barber and Shane Dunlap would add six and four apiece and juniors Jeremiah Strickland and Cory Cothrine would tack on four and two respectively.
Both teams now look forward to another road trip Tuesday night as they head to White County to take on the Searcy Lions. Senior Girls action will tip-off around 6 p.m. with the senior boys to follow and can be heard on 93 KZLE, online at WhiteRiverNow.com, and on the White River Now mobile app.
Article by Wes Gwaltney, Voice of the Pioneers, 93 KZLE
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