Class 3 No. 6 ranked Lady Pirates knock off Cassville Lady ‘Cats

Pirates wallop Gloria Deo Academy, fall to RUSH, Miller Cardinals in close one; head to Stockton, Friday
 
The Class 3, sixth ranked Lady Pirates hosted Cassville on Thursday and won the game by 19 points, 61-42.
Both teams shot the ball well in the first quarter and Ash Grove held a slim lead of 17-16 at the end of the quarter. The Lady Pirates clamped down on defense in the second quarter and held the Lady Cats to eight points while scoring 15 points of their own to increase their lead to 32-24 at the half.
The Lady Pirates continued to shoot well in the second half, scoring 15 points in the third quarter and 14 points in the fourth quarter, while holding Cassville to a combined 18 points for the half.
Millison Sapp paced Ash Grove with 25 points, Bristol Lathrop had 23 points and Lacey McCullough ended the game with 11 points.
The Lady Pirates hosted Class 2, third ranked Miller on Tuesday and fell to the Lady Cardinals 58-52 in a close game.
Miller led 17-16 after the first quarter, but Ash Grove shut down Miller in the second quarter, allowing three points while scoring 10 points to take a 26-20 halftime lead. The Lady Cardinals flipped the game in the third quarter, scoring 25 points to take a 45-41 lead into the final quarter of play. In the fourth quarter, Miller outscored Ash Grove 13-11 to hold on for the win.
Sapp led Ash Grove with 19 points and Lathrop added 14 points in the loss.
The Lady Pirates are 16-11 on the season and were scheduled to travel to Class 1, eighth ranked Lockwood on Monday night before hosting Class 2, fifth ranked Marionville last night. Ash Grove will end the week by traveling to Stockton tomorrow night.

Boys basketball
The Ash Grove boys basketball team played three games last week, losing two of them but finishing the week strong by defeating Gloria Deo Academy.
The Pirates traveled to Springfield on Friday, Feb. 6 and came home with a 61-38 win over Gloria Deo Academy.
The Lions led 10-9 after the first quarter but Ash Grove was able to outscore Gloria 12-10 in the second quarter to take a 21-20 lead at the half. The Pirates really took off in the third quarter, scoring 22 points, while their defense allowed just nine points to increase their lead to 43-29. In the fourth quarter, Ash Grove continued to pour it on, hitting another 18 points and holding the Lions to another nine points to win the game by 23 points.
“We played really well defensively and were able to handle their size,” said head coach Grant Williamson.” In the second half things started clicking on offense and paired with the continued defensive energy, allowed us to really pull away.”
Kyler Reece led Ash Grove with 22 points and Easton Rust added 14 points in the win.
The Pirates hosted RUSH Sr. Home School on Thursday, Feb. 5 but lost to RUSH 67-57.
RUSH jumped out to a 22-11 first quarter lead but the Pirates battled back outscoring RUSH 19-13 in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 35-30 at the half.
Ash Grove was able to pull even with RUSH in the third quarter by outscoring them 16-11 to tie the game at 46-46 heading into the final quarter of play. In the fourth quarter RUSH was able to score 21 points, while holding Ash Grove to 11 points to secure the victory.    
“We got in a hole early but we able to dig ourselves out of it which showed some real grit,” said Williamson. “Didn’t go our way in the end but proud of the fight we showed.”
Reece led Ash Grove with 20 points and Harison Thompson had 14 points in the game.
The Pirates started their week by hosting Miller on Tuesday, Feb. 5 and fell to the Cardinals in a close game, 39-35.
It was a defensive battle in the first quarter, as neither team could get much momentum going but Miller led 3-2 at the end of the quarter. Ash Grove was able to get some points in the second quarter, outscoring Miller 10-8 to take a 12-11 halftime lead.
The Cardinal shot the ball well in the third quarter, scoring 18 points to retake the lead, 29-23 going into the final quarter of play. The Pirates outscored Miller 12-10 in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough as the Cardinal would get the four-point victory.
“This was a defensive battle, and we just couldn’t get some of the open looks we had to fall,” said Williamson.
Thompson led the Pirates with 12 points and Reece added 10 points in the loss.
Ash Grove is now 12-9 on the season and were scheduled to play at Lockwood on Monday before hosting Marionville last night and ending the week at Stockton on Friday.