De Queen Drops Pair at Dierks Friday

The Dierks senior teams protected the home court Friday night as the Lady Outlaws turned back the De Queen girls 50 to 40, while the Outlaws outlasted the Leopards 51 to 45.

The Dierks girls, riding the hot shooting of Ryleigh Simmons, jumped out to a quick 16 to 0 lead and extended the advantage to 29 to 12 at intermission. Ellie Morphew rallied the Lady Leopards in the second half, but the big Dierks lead was just too much to overcome as the Lady Outlaws prevailed 50 to 40. 

For Dierks, Simmons finished with 19 points. Addison Hill scored 12, and Rayle Walston added seven to go along with several assists. Morphew led the Lady Leopards with 15 points and eight rebounds. Heavenly Pickings added 12 points and seven boards. The Lady Outlaws converted eight more free throws than De Queen. But the real key was three-point shooting. Dierks made seven three-pointers, while the Lady Leopards made only one of 20 shots from behind the arc.

In a tight boys contest, the Outlaws pulled away in the second half to post the 51 to 45 victory. McLain Smith led Dierks with 19. Payton Beckman scored 14. Freshman Jacoby Faulkner added seven. For the Leopards, Nolan Ayers led with 13. Konnor Shelton was also in double figures with 10. John Maturino stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, 11 rebounds, and five blocked shots.