Lady Pirates fall in opening round of 4A-3

Brookland Lady Bearcats 60, Gosnell Lady Pirates 41

BLYTHEVILLE— The Gosnell Lady Pirates seemed up for the challenge against powerhouse Brookland as they led a majority of the first two-and-a-half quarters, but the Lady Bearcats pulled away in the third quarter sending Gosnell to a 60-41 season ending defeat.

“I’m just happy with the way we competed. That’s been our story all year long. I know a lot of people probably counted us out. To be in a game like that, with a program like that, just speaks to our growth,” explained Lady Pirates head coach Monroe Carr. “That’s what our season has been all about. Our growth from where we started has been kind of impressive. I’m proud of the way they competed.”

The Lady Pirates jumped on the board first after freshman guard Bryonna Thompson picked the pocket of a Lady Bearcat player and hit the layup at the 7:32 mark in the first quarter.

Brookland went on a 7-2 run in the next three minutes, but with 28.3 seconds remaining in the quarter Thompson connected on one-of-two attempts from the charity stripe to give the Lady Pirates an 11- 10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, Gosnell expanded their narrow lead to a 21-15 lead with 3:04 remaining in the first half.

But the Lady Bearcats didn’t go away, as they crawled back to cut Gosnell’s lead to one point at the end of the second quarter.

With roughly six minutes remaining the Lady Pirates led 28-27, but trailed 43-37 at the end of the third quarter.

GHS was outscored 17-4 in the final frame.

The Lady Pirates shot 71 percent from the free throw line, connecting on 24 of 34 attempts. According to Carr, this is an improvement from last year's team.

“Free throws can make or break games and so that is something that we have emphasized because all and all last year's team wasn’t great at free throw shooting. So that’s something we put the time in,” explained Carr. “We’ve practiced free throws in just about every situation that you can think of. It just requires focus and mental toughness. Free throws are a big part of the game. Some people take for granted, but I don’t. They grew a lot and over the course of the season I was proud of them for the growth of them at the free throw line.”

Thompson carried the Lady Pirates offensively with 23 points. Senior Sierra Simmons chipped in 10 points and junior Natalee Murphy added five points.

Carr will lose three seniors — Simmons, Imari Johnson, and Layla Meacham — and will return several top scorers in Thompson, LaeLae Lincoln, and Murphy.

“I’m excited for the future,” said Carr. “We got some good young kids returning that are ready to work. Thompson, our freshman point guard, sophomore post player Lincoln, and junior forward Murphy should be big for us going down the stretch. I’m excited to see their growth because they’re young. They can play and have a lot of potential.”

Carr added he is looking forward to seeing Abiegail Beltran, Nadia Erby, and Amalia Caruthers's growth during the off-season after seeing flashes of potential during the 2024- 2025 season. The loss ends Gosnell’s season with an overall record of 6-20, 2-8 in conference.