Lady Pirates claim top spot in Southwest Conference, top Marionville

The Ash Grove High School girls team continues to play well as they swept two more games last week, while the boys lost two more games.

          Girls
The Lady Pirates traveled to Marionville on Thursday, Feb. 13 and came home with an easy 68-36 win.
Ash Grove jumped out to a 24-7 first quarter lead and never looked back, increasing that lead to 30-19 by the half. In the third quarter, Ash Grove outscored the Lady Comets 22-13 in the third quarter and 15-4 in the fourth quarter to win the game by 32 points. The win secured at least a portion of the Southwest Conference title.
Khloe Moad led Ash Grove with 25 points; Emma Eagleburger added 18 points and Kennedi Climer ended the game with 10 points.
The Lady Pirates opened the week with an 81-27 laugher over Pleasant Hope at home on Monday, Feb. 10.
The Lady Pirates led 26-4 after the first quarter and 32-9 at the half. Ash Grove scored another 39 points in the second half, while holding Pleasant Hope to just 18 points to win the game 81-27.
Moad led Ash Grove with 19 points; Climer added 14 points, Eagleburger and Briley Bagley each had 12 points and Riley Hammons ended the game with 10 points.
Ash Grove is now 18-5 on the season and were scheduled to play at Lockwood on Tuesday, Feb. 18 and will host Walnut Grove on Thursday, Feb. 20.

         Boys
On the boys side, the Pirates lost to Marionville 52-30 on Friday, Feb. 14 and lost to Pleasant Hope 59-54 on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
The Pirates traveled to Marionville and found themselves down 15-8 after the first quarter and 36-12 by halftime. The Comets extended their lead to 50-18 at the end of the third quarter. Ash Grove outscored Marionville 12-2 in the fourth quarter but still lost 52-30. Sam Moreland led Ash Grove with eight points.                
In the battle of the Pirates, Ash Grove hosted Pleasant Hope, but fell behind 13-8 after the first quarter and found themselves trailing 28-23 at the half. Pleasant Hope outscored Ash Grove 15-12 in the third quarter to increase their lead to 43-35 at the end of the third quarter. The Pirates outscored Pleasant Hope 19-16 in the fourth quarter but still lost 59-54.
Brock Mooneyham led Ash Grove with 15 points; Moreland and Codey Raney each ended the game with 14 points.
With the losses, the Pirates are now 1-19 on the season and will finish up the regular season this week as they were scheduled to travel to Lockwood on Tuesday night and will end the regular season by hosting Walnut Grove tomorrow night.