By Pat Dailey (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
HARRISON, Arkansas — Priscilla Williams added exceptional free-throw shooting Monday to the list of superlatives used to describe her offensive game that has taken the Ozarks by storm.
The Branson super sophomore’s 38-point performance in the Lady Pirates’ 73-66 triumph over Harrison, Arkansas, was highlighted by 13-of-14 free-throw shooting.
She made her final 12 freebies, a welcomed relief after being only so-so at the foul line while scoring 173 points in her first five games in a Branson uniform.
“I’ve been practicing my free throws and my Dad has been telling me, ‘slow down, you have 10 seconds to shoot, so take seven seconds and just think about making one free throw at time,’” Williams said.
“Free throws was one thing she had been struggling with,” Lady Pirates coach Kip Bough said. “It was good to see her show that that’s part of her whole game. You think you see a weakness in her and then boom, the next game she shows it is a strength.”
Williams’ streak of free throws came after she took off tape that had been wrapped around two fingers on her right hand. She had jammed the fingers during Branson’s win at Lebanon last week.
“The tape was annoying me with my shot,” said Williams, who broke a finger on her right hand while playing as a freshman in Houston last year. “The tape didn’t feel natural and my shot was off, so I decided to take it off.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Branson (7-0) never did take off and hide from Harrison (3-6) as some might have expected, based on the teams’ records. The Lady Goblins held a 24-14 lead in the first half, before Williams scored 24 points by halftime to put the Lady Pirates on top 36-28.
Harrison started the second half with a 12-1 run to regain the lead, 40-37.
Briley Parker reached 19 points midway through the third quarter to give the Lady Goblins a 46-38 lead. She finished with 25 points.
Harrison was playing just its second game in its new Goblin Arena. The Lady Goblins had been on the road since Nov. 17.
“I was proud that we came back and competed,” coach Doug Young said. “(Parker) is our bell-cow. Our offense revolves around her. We also did a good job moving the ball around and getting other people involved. That’s what we hadn’t been doing. I feel like we’re going in the right direction.”
“This is a tough place to play,” Bough said. “You almost have to be 20 points better than them to win by one. I knew they would battle just because of who they have been throughout the years.”
The combination of Williams and Lauren Garrison triggered another Branson comeback. Upon being double-teamed, Williams repeatedly fed Garrison for layups, as Garrison enjoyed a 19-point night.
“Priscilla did a good job finding Lauren,” Bough said. “Lauren was getting open off of Priscilla’s penetration. That would draw (defenders) to Priscilla and she would pop it over the top of them. She can see over the top and made some fantastic passes to Lauren for easy 2s.
“That will take a little pressure of Priscilla. It’s hard to leave the other kids open when they’re getting easy shots.”
“A lot of it was when one player would leave to step up on Priscilla,” Garrison said of her eight-point fourth quarter. “Anytime (Williams) drove, my defender would step up and I would go down and have an open shot.”
Garrison anticipates such a script could play out plenty this season, as teams try to handle the 6-foot-2 Williams.
“There will be a lot of focus to stop Priscilla,” Garrison said. “It should give me a lot of good opportunities to get open under the basket.
“It’s pretty neat with the vision she has. She’ll be halfway down the court and she can see someone underneath because she is so tall and can see over everybody.”
“(Williams) does a good job getting the others involved,” Young said. “When we stepped up, she found their other girls. It has to be pretty nice to have a 6-2 point guard, especially as fluid as she is.”
Branson took the lead for good on back-to-back layups by Garrison over the final three minutes.
Williams clinched the outcome by hitting two free throws with 22 seconds left and following up by converting a steal into a layup
“I like defense,” Williams said. “If you get stops, it gets you motivated to play better on offense and then your team gets a run going.”
Branson 13 25 12 25 – 73
Harrison 18 10 21 16 – 66
BRANSON (73) – Priscilla Williams 38, Gracie Jaeger 12, Isabel Holloway 2, Lauren Garrison 19, Karis Goodwin 2.
HARRISON (66) – Kenzie Parker 11, Brylie Parker 25, Claire Doshier 9, Marion Groberg 2, Caroline Cecil 13, Peri Knight 6,
