By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Keisha Stovall recorded a "double-double" Tuesday night as the Palestine-Wheatley Junior Lady Patriots opened the 2003-04 basketball season with a win over Arkansas Baptist.
Stovall, a freshman for the junior girls, scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 36-26 win over the Junior Lady Eagles.
The senior Lady Patriots got a "double-double" from Tonisha Wynne, but it wasn't enough to score a win, falling to the Lady Eagles 49-39.
The Junior Lady Patriots are scheduled to play McCrory Thursday at 7 p.m., in the Wheatley Invitational Tournament.
The junior girls are the defending champions of the tournament.
Brittney Wilson and Chelsea Jumper each added four points for the junior girls.
The senior girls suffered a bad second period and trailed 31-10 at the half but rallied in the second half to make the game close.
"We took our lumps the first half," said second year coach Lanny Allen. "And we came out in the second half and played much better and actually outscored Arkansas Baptist 29-18 to get within 10 in the fourth period."
Foul problems to Allen's five starters -- four sophomores and one junior -- prevented the Lady Patriots from playing as aggressively as Allen would have liked late in the game.
"We were already in foul trouble and when we needed to foul them late, we weren't able to," Allen said.
Cara Lansford was the only other Lady Patriot in double figures, finishing with 11 points. Bernice Sparkman added six points while Fallon Parker and Whitney Smith added three points each.
Wynne, Lansford, Parker and Smith are the four sophomores in the starting five while Sparkman is tho lone junior.
Allen has seven sophomores and three juniors on the Lady Patriot roster this season.
"We may pick up a senior or two after the first of the year," but right now we are going with what we have."
Allen said there were some bright spots in the loss.
"I can tell you when they got down early, they never quit," Allen said. "We trailed by as much as 25 points in the third period but kept battling and got back within 10."
The senior girls will play at Hughes next Tuesday.
In the senior boys game, the Patriots led by 10 at the half but couldn't hold on as Arkansas Baptist held on to take a 57-49 win at Patriot Fieldhouse.
Senior Vince Jones led the Patriots with 22 points while Tony Huntley added five.
P-W Coach Terry Clardy dressed out only eight players for the game. Most of Clardy's roster basketball players are still paying on the Patriot football team, which will open the Class AA state playoffs Friday when they host Hazen.
The Patriots missed some key free throws late in the game while Arkansas Baptist started chipping away at the lead.
"They shot 35 free throws in the second half and we went to the line just 12 times, if that tells you more about how the second half unfolded," Clardy said. "For three and a half periods, we played well. We just don't have the depth yet."
The Junior Patriots will open the season Thursday against McCrory at the Wheatley Invitational Tournament at Wheatley.
P-W and McCrory will play at 8 p.m.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Forrest City Junior Mustangs and Lady Mustangs will open the basketball season Thursday at Mustang Arena when they host Wynne.
Forrest City returns to the one-team format this season in each sport and will field just one junior high boys team and one junior high girls team.
The junior girls also have a new coach in Jacky England, who has 14 years of coaching experience under his belt.
England said he will dress out 13 eighth graders and 13 ninth graders Thursday night as both teams are scheduled to play.
Following the girls' games, which will tip at 5 p.m., the junior boys, under the direction of Jimmy Williams, will take the floor for their opening game.
*The Hughes junior and senior high boys' teams will play Buffalo Island Central Thursday at Jonesboro in their first game of the year.
Both teams will be led this season by first-year coach Jason Carmichael.
Carmichael comes to Hughes from Central Baptist College where he coached the boys basketball team and takes over for departed coach Brad Brannon.
The junior boys will tip at 6 p.m. followed by the senior boys.