Lady Devils fall to Jonesboro in OT

WM girls lose, extra frame goes Lady Hurricane’s way

WM School District JONESBORO — The West Memphis Lady Devils had three legit cracks at winning it, but Jonesboro squirmed out of trouble each of those times.

In a taut affair that saw the Lady Devils battle hard to the end, Jonesboro ended up taking a 53-47 victory here Tuesday night over the

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West Memphis girls.

Holding for the final shot in regulation with the score tied 42-42, the Lady Devils got a pretty good look at the basket, but sophomore Harmony Buckingham's runner inside the paint rolled off the rim, sending the game into overtime.

Once again, the West Memphis girls (5-6 overall, 0-4 in the 5A-East Conference) had two chances to tie the game in the final 30 seconds. Both opportunities were open 3- point attempts by the team's best shooter, sophomore Janiyah Tucker, whose shots looked on target off the finger-tips, but they both went awry and Jonesboro escaped with the victory.

Jonesboro (11-3, 3-1) got a 6-for-6 performance from the free-throw line by Arianna Hardaway, the game's leading scorer with 16 points, in the final 52 seconds of overtime to give her team the win.

Jonesboro held a 24-22 lead at halftime, and while the Lady Devils never led in the second half they kept it close with some neversay-

A Tucker mid-range jumper with 1:26 to play in the fourth quarter tied it 42-42.

And when Jonesboro turned it over on the ensuing possession, Lady Devil head coach Erica Leak instructed her club to take the last shot, which it did.

Jonesboro got a quick lead in overtime when it won the tip and then got a threepoint play from T'Kera Anderson, who scored 9 points.

Twice in overtime, the Lady Devils came within a point of the hosts, once off a layup by T'Nya Burnett at the 1:42 mark and on a basket off a spin move by Tucker, who led her team with 14 points, with 43 seconds

48-47.

After two successful free throws by Hardaway with 43 seconds to play, Tucker got two open attempts from 3-point range.

Terika Inmon added 14 points to the West Memphis cause while ninth-grader Aniyah Price and sophomore Clemisha Prackett pumped in 5 apiece.

Jonesboro also got 13 points from Destiny Thomas.

The Lady Devils return home on Friday night to face Paragould, and former Lady Devil Hall of Famer Sonja Tate, who coaches the Lady Rams.