By Richard Sharp/Lake Area Sports
The 2019-20 basketball season is now underway, and nine area schools took to the floor for opening week. Concord, Mt. Vernon-Enola, Pangburn, Shirley, Timbo and West Side all participated in the Bad Boy Mowers Classic at Izard County High School, while four of those schools also took on the Norfork Classic as well.
On Monday, Pangburn’s Lady Tigers fell to Viola 63-53 before the Tigers also lost to Viola by a 78-71. Also falling short were the Lady Eagles and Eagles of West Side, as the Lady Eagles came up short to defending Class 2A state runner-up Riverside 45-33 and the Eagles lost to defending Class 1A state champion Izard County 72-32. Also playing on Monday was Shirley on the road at White County Central, with the Lady Blue Devils winning 52-39 while the Blue Devils fell 61-54.
The Lady Pirates and Pirates played host to White County Central on Tuesday, as the Lady Pirates torched the Lady Bears 64-36 behind 25 points from senior forward Ashlyn Deckard. The Bears picked up their second straight victory in as many days after edging Concord 33-32.
Wednesday evening seen the Lady Eagles bounce back with a 68-52 victory over 3A powerhouse Valley Springs in the Norfork Classic, as junior guard Haley Gentry scorched the net for four first quarter three-pointers, finishing with 20 points. All West Side seniors wound up in double figures, with sophomore Ashtyn Knapp (15), senior Madison Bailey (12), sophomore Sarah Carlton (11) and senior Alex Southerland added to the cause. The Eagles lost to Valley Springs 81-45.
On Thursday, Shirley returned to action from Izard County, as the host Lady Cougars held off the Lady Blue Devils 40-37 before Riverside’s boys tackled the Blue Devils 90-66 behind a 46-point barrage from senior Demo Bowers.
Concord and West Side combined to go 3-1 at the Norfork Classic with Concord sweeping the host (51-45 in girls, 67-43 in boys) and West Side splitting with the girls winning 57-48 and the boys losing 69-64.
Friday capped off a long opening week, wrapping up action from Izard County with the Tigers of Timbo falling to Flippin 63-27 while Concord’s teams split with the Lady Pirates suffering a 57-38 setback to Viola while the Pirates ousted Bay 67-56.
Stay tuned for more action from the court all season long with Lake Area Sports at www.lakeareasports.com.