Class 3 No. 5 Fair Grove picked up a non-conference road win over Class 4 No. 6 Ava, 66-49, on Thursday night.
The Eagles started fast and never looked back. Fair Grove outscored the host Bears 17-5 in the first quarter and 39-16 in the first half.
Brooke Daniels set the tone for Fair Grove scoring 12 of her 19 points in the first quarter. Emma Padgett took over in the second quarter scoring 14 of her game-high 20 points in the frame. Padgett knocked down all three of her 3-pointers in the second quarter. Ashton Bell also scored in double figures for Fair Grove with 11 points.
Ava was paced by Lexie Gastineau’s 19 points. Sara Mendel was just behind her with 18 points. Keeley Akers gave Ava three players in double figures with 10 points.
The win for Fair Grove (18-4) was the third of a four-game stretch against state-ranked teams. Fair Grove lost to Class 3 No. 4 Skyline by three on Feb. 2 before beating Class 3 No. 1 El Dorado Springs by three points in Tuesday. Next up for Fair Grove is a home game against Class 4 No. 2 St. James on Saturday.
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After a Feb. 13 game with Buffalo, Fair Grove will close the regular season at Class 3 No. 3 Strafford. In total, Fair Grove has either played or will play 11 regular season games against teams who are either ranked or receiving votes in the most recent state rankings.
Ava (18-4) will jump back in to SCA play hosting Houston and Salem before finishing the regular season at Forsyth on Feb. 20. The Bears have yet to lose to a Class 4 team with two losses coming to Class 6 schools Nixa and Ozark, one loss to Class 5 West Plains and Tuesday’s loss to Class 3 Fair Grove. All except Ozark are currently state ranked.
Fair Grove – 17-22-14-13 – 66
Ava – 5-11-17-16 — 49
FG: Emma Padgett 20, Brooke Daniels 19, Ashton Bell 11, Kameron Green 8, Camdyn Hart 6, Hannah Maxwell 2
A: Lexie Gastineau 19, Sara Mendel 18, Keeley Akers 10, Celia Fossett 2