The Lady Pioneers and Pioneers would once again take to the road Friday, Feb. 18, for a conference doubleheader, looking to spoil Nettleton’s senior night, but the Raiders wouldn’t let it be.
In the opener, the Lady Pioneers would start the ballgame slow and the Lady Raiders would take advantage, opening up a 14-to-3 lead after the first quarter. In the second quarter, every basket seemed to fall for Nettleton as despite increasing their scoring total in the frame, the Lady Raiders would take a 39-to-12 lead into halftime. Both teams would score 11 in the third quarter before the Lady Raiders would coast to a 62-to-32 victory.
Leading the Lady Pioneers in scoring for the first time this year was sophomore Salice Speed with nine points. Team leading scorer senior Taylor Rush would add eight points, junior Abby Hurley would tack on four points, senior Camya Porter would add three points, and seniors Zharia Childress and Emily Harrison, junior Sophie Poole, and freshman Jenna LaRose would add two points apiece.
In the nightcap, another slow offensive start would see the Raiders pull ahead early and lead 16-to-7 at the end of the first quarter. The Pioneers would answer back in the second, pulling the deficit to 26-to-19 at the halftime break. Despite 17 points in the third, the Pioneers would see the deficit grow as the Raiders put up 25 points out of halftime and would take a 51-to-36 lead into the final frame. The Raiders would extend their lead in the final quarter, defeating the Pioneers 72-to-43.
Leading the Pioneers in scoring was senior Logan McSpadden with thirteen points. Joining McSpadden in double digits was fellow senior Wes Lange with ten. Sophomore Will Hendrix would knock down three treys for nine points, senior JT Morgan would add eight points, and sophomore Braxton Davis would tack on three more points for the Pioneers.
Both senior high teams now return back to Pioneer Gymnasium Tuesday night to celebrate senior night and to host the Searcy Lions in a conference doubleheader before tentatively closing out the season Thursday on the road at West Memphis.
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, The Voice of Batesville Pioneers Basketball on 93 KZLE
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