SPRINGDALE - Springdale Har-Ber was able to hang on this time.
Har-Ber built a 12-point lead in the first half and defeated Van Buren 44-39 on Friday in 7A/6A-West Conference play at Wildcat Arena.
Paige Redmond scored nine points for Har-Ber, which fell out of a fi rst-place tie in the league after losing to Bentonville on Tuesday.
Har-Ber led 23-11 in the first half against Van Buren, but the Lady Pointers fought back to get within 42-39 on a Hali Jennen basket with 1 minute, 57 seconds left in the game. Van Buren then missed two shots and Redmond hit two free throws to secure the victory for Har-Ber.
Carlye Bohannan and Bailey Schalk each finished with eight points for Har-Ber (18-5, 8-2 7A/6A-West), which made only three field goals in the third quarter.
“It was sporadic,” Har-Ber coach Sandy Wright said of her team’s shooting performance. “We’re struggling with our shooting right now. We may make it an off ensive day and concentrate on our shooting Monday. We need to get that flow going again.”
Van Buren (5-15, 0-10) played another tough game after losing 42-37 to Fayetteville on Tuesday. The Lady Pointers were led by freshman Lani Snowden and sophomore Danae Goodwin,who each scored 11 points. Snowden made three of the five 3-pointers for Van Buren.
“We’re not quite there, but we’re getting better,” Van Buren coach Merrill Mankin said. “It’s going to come because these kids play so hard. They never quit.”
Van Buren got within 34-32 before Samantha Weber drove against a passive defense and made a layup to end the third quarter. Bohannan then hit a 3-pointer to begin the fourth quarter and Cassidy Squires followed with a layup to give Har-Ber a 41-32 lead.
Har-Ber started strong again and stretched its lead to 23-11 midway through the second quarter. Van Buren got to within 25-15 after a rebound basket Santillana. Van Buren had two more chances to cut the defi cit but the Lady Pointers missed on two layup attempts.
Caroline Hornor then ended the half with a short bank shot to put Har-Ber ahead 27-17.
HOW THEY SCORED GIRLS
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 44 VAN BUREN 39
Van Buren 8 9 15 7 - 39
Har-Ber 16 11 9 8 - 44
VAN BUREN (5-16, 0-10):
Snowden 11, Goodwin 11,
Santillana 9, Jones 3, Shepard
3, Jennen 2.
HAR-BER (18-5, 8-2): Redmond
9, Bohannan 8, Schalk 8,
Montgomery 7, Weber 3,
Higgins 3, Chancellor 2, Horner
2, Squires 2.
Sports, Pages 10 on 02/15/2014