West Memphis girls top Little Rock Parkview in OT

Blue Devils outlast Patriots in thriller

WM School District The Ghosts of Glory still reside in the old Devil Dome.

In what will be a temporary home, the 1,200-seat gym proved once again on Tuesday night that it is a nightmare for the West Memphis opposition. In Game Two of its brief run as home of the Blue Devils, the Devil Dome and its inviting atmosphere (that is, inviting only for the home team) pushed the Lady Devils to a 66-64 overtime victory over Little Rock Parkview.

The Lady Devils' seasonopener against a marquee opponent promised to answer the question of whether the West Memphis girls are as good as their preseason hype and could they follow up on their magical postseason ride of a year ago.

For the first 18 minutes the answer to those questions was a resounding yes.

But as the game got rougher and Parkview got more stubborn, the Lady Devils relinquished a 17point third-quarter lead only to see the Lady Patriots send the game into overtime, whereupon the hosts got two clutch free throws from junior center Clemisha Prackett with 6 seconds left to give West Memphis the victory before a loud group of Blue Devil fans that nearly packed the tiny gym.

'So, this is the atmosphere of the Devil Dome,' an elated West Memphis head coach Erica Leak said. 'I love the Devil Dome because your fans are right there on top of you and we really needed their support tonight.'

With expectations high for this season after returning three star players from last year's team that made a run in the state title game before losing to Jonesboro in the final, the Lady Devils did not disappoint.

Their three returnees, juniors Janiyah Tucker and Prackett and sophomore Aniyah Price, carried the load, scoring 60 of the team's 66 points.

And all three aces played excessive minutes, their bodies worse from the wear.

Price came away with a bloody nose from a shot to the chops in the fourth quarter and Tucker and Prackett each missed a few minutes down the stretch due to muscle cramps.

'That game was so rough we're going to use (Wednesday) as recovery day,' said Leak.

With Tucker darting in and out of the clamps of a swarming Parkview defense, Prackett dominating inside to the tune of double-double numbers (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Price going about her job as quietly as she did last year, the West Memphis girls at times overwhelmed a Parkview squad that has already posted an overtime victory over defending state champion Jonesboro.

The Lady Devils led 29-18 at halftime and opened the third quarter with 3-pointers from Tucker and Price to give the home club its biggest lead of the night at 35-18. Tucker scored 15 of her game-high 23 points from the free-throw line and Price added 18 points.

'As our trio goes, we go,' said Leak. 'We've got some other talented young kids who are going to be role players this year and they're still trying to learn their roles.'

Trouble loomed, though, when 6-foot-2 Parkview center Tyra Robinson, who paced her team with 21 points, collected some garbage baskets, and junior guard Jordan Gregory got hot from 3-point range.

West Memphis, however, still held a 10-point lead (58-48) with just 1:46 to play in regulation.

But Parkview outscored the Lady Devils 11-1 in that span, getting a buzzer-beating triple out of Gregory to send the game into overtime at 59-59. The Lady Devils actually had to come from behind in the extra stanza after Jada Page sank a tear drop from the lane to give the visitors a 61-59 lead.

Later, Parkview's Breighah Bailey hit two free throws with 2:25 to play to give her team a 64-61 lead.

That's when Tucker answered the distress signal with a dipsy-do move slashing to the goal that ended up as a three-point

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Photo by Billy Woods BLUE DEVILS (cont.)

play to tie the contest.

With Parkview intent on taking the last shot, Robinson missed a shot in the paint and Prackett was fouled as she snatched her 10th rebound. She calmly sank both free throws on the other end with six seconds to play. On Parkview's final attempt, Bailey had a clear lane to the basket, but Tucker reached in from behind to thwart the shot that could have tied the game.

'Our fans helped us win that game,' Leak commented. 'That was a good test for us early in the season and after we heal up (Wednesday) we'll get ready for our Thanksgiving tournament in Little Rock.'

Leak's own daughter, ninthgrader Tyra Taylor, scored 4 points for West Memphis and Price's younger sister,