Lady Bobcats bounce back after 1st conference loss

The Berryville Lady Bobcats suffered their first 4A-1 conference loss to the 2024-25 season on Tuesday, Jan. 21, as the Pea Ridge Lady Blackhawks took sole possession of first place in the conference race with a 43-40 home win.

But Berryville didn’t stay down long. The Lady Bobcats were back on their home court and back to their winning ways three nights later, beating Prairie Grove 46-35 to start the second half of conference play.

Berryville’s stingy defense has been a strong suit for the Lady Bobcats all season, and that continued in the victory over Prairie Grove.

Berryville held Prairie Grove to four first-quarter points, which helped the Lady Bobcats weather a scoring drought on their own in the second quarter, when Prairie Grove outscored Berryville 11-3 for a 15-14 halftime lead.

The Lady Bobcats’ got their offense in gear in the second half, outscoring the Lady Tigers 32-20 over the final two quarters.

Junior Kaylyn Smith led the way, scoring 14 of her game-high 16 points in the second half. Smith scored 10 points in the third quarter alone, hitting a pair of big three-pointers as the Lady Bobcats turned their halftime deficit into a 30-25 lead.

Five other Lady Bobcats scored at least five points, with junior Paige Thurman and senior Taelor Tomlinson scoring seven points apiece. Junior Hailey Howerton had six points and senior Kynadee Hopper and junior Tessa Johnson scored five points apiece.

In the loss at Pea Ridge, Berryville shook off a slow start to pull even at 34-34 at the end of the third quarter, but had just six points in the fourth quarter as the Lady Blackhawks held on to remain unbeaten in conference play.

Howerton led the Lady Bobcats with 13 points, including nine in the second half. Smith added 12.

Berryville will play a pair of road games this week, traveling to Springdale to face Shiloh Christian on Tuesday, Jan. 28, before playing at Gravette on Friday, June 31.