Lady Wildcats earn fourth straight win

ROGERS — Springdale Har-Ber put four players in double figures and claimed its fourth consecutive 7A-West Conference win Friday night.

Senior Maci Maines scored a team-high 17 points, including a big 3-pointer in the corner to lead the Lady Wildcats to a 57-47 win over Rogers High in King Arena.

Har-Ber (12-10, 4-4 7A-West) never trailed in the second half and kept the Lady Mounties at arm’s length thanks to keys baskets and fourth-quarter free throws.

Rogers (11-10, 4-4) didn’t score for the first 3 minutes, 52 seconds of the fourth quarter, but pulled within 47-43 thanks to Madison Loyd’s long 3-pointer with 2:30 left. Loyd missed a long three that could have got the Lady Mounties within one, but Mains had a big answer in the corner with 1:29 left to push the lead back to seven.

Har-Ber put the game away, hitting seven of eight free throws in the final minute.

Har-Ber coach Jamie Green said her team is understanding how to share the ball and it showed with four players in double figures. In addition to Mains, Krislyn Smith added 12, Savanna Collins 11 and Khanni Shannon 10.

The kids are starting to understand momentum, change of pace, Green said. “To win in this league, you’ve got to control tempo and we’re still battling that. Knowing hen to push, when to pull. When you pull that doesn’t mean play soft. That means get the ball on both sides of the floor, value execution.”

“Get it in everybody’s hands. Give everybody a touch because if you don’t, somebody on the defensive end is getting to rest.”

Loyd was the lone Rogers player in double figures with 22, including four 3-pointers.

Rogers coach Preston Early said Har-Ber was just better Friday night.

“It was a game that both us needed and I thought they outplayed us,” Early said. “I thought they were the tougher team tonight. They executed fundamentals. They drove it harder than we were committed to stopping them. I thought they were very focused and intent and I did not think we were on their level tonight.”

Har-Ber plays host to rival Springdale High, while Rogers High travels to Rogers Heritage in a pair of big rivalry games on Tuesday.

Har-Ber............17 13 9 18 — 57 Rogers.............16 12 7 12 — 47 Springdale Har-Ber (12-10, 4-4): Mains 17, Smith 12, Collins, 11, Shannon 10, Wood 4, Nelson 3. Rogers (11-10, 4-4): Loyd 22, Figenskau 6, McConnell 6, Carr 5, Storey 4, Larkin 2, Covington 2.

FAYETTEVILLE 47, BENTONVILLE HIGH 41 (OT)

The Lady Bulldogs did not take their first lead until the overtime period after falling in a big hole early. Sophomore Coriah Beck scored a season and career-high 24 points, including clutch free throws down the stretch to help Fayetteville (16-3, 8-0) stay unbeaten in the 7A-West. Beck was 7 of 13 from the floor and 8 of 9 at the free-throw line to lead the Lady Bulldogs to the come-from-behind win. Sophomore Sasha Goforth added 16 — all in the second half and overtime. Bentonville (16-5, 5-3) raced to a big early lead as Avery Hughes scored 15 of her 18 points in the first half as the Lady Tigers led 20-14 at the break. That lead evaporated in the first minute of the second half as Fayetteville came out of halftime on fire and quickly took a 22-20 lead. It was close the rest of the way. Each team had a chance to win at the end of regulation but could not get late shots to fall. Maryam Dauda scored 10 points for Bentonville and the 6-foot-4 freshman’s presence inside was a game-changer.

VAN BUREN 42, BENTONVILLE WEST 25

Van Buren put together scoring runs of 14-0 and 10-0 to pull away from a cold-shooting West in Wolverine Gymnasium. The first run gave the Lady Pointers (14-7, 5-3) an 18-4 lead as West (8-12, 1-7) went more than 9 minutes without scoring in the first half. Van Buren then led 21-13 when it held West scoreless for the final 7:19 of the third quarter, setting up the 10-0 run for a 31-13 cushion. Jamilyn Kinney had 10 of her 13 points in the first half to lead Van Buren, followed by Jentry Myers with 11. Shania Wilson had 10 for West.

SPRINGDALE HIGH54, ROGERS HERITAGE 38

Springdale had little problem with Heritage (5-15, 0-8), which remains winless in conference play. Marquesha Davis scored 16 points for Springdale (14-7, 5-3), which led 14-5 after one quarter and 23-12 at halftime. Sarah Vogel added 12 points and Ashlyn Minchew eight for Spring-dale while Pam Seiler scored 14 to lead Heritage. “Minchew posted hard and Vogel hit some shots,” Springdale coach Heather Hunsucker said. “It was back to Springdale basketball and what we do well. We used the post, going inside out, and really focused on not taking a lot of threes.” Ryan Malashock, a former sports writer, made his varsity coaching debut for Heritage in place of Scott Moore, who was away at a funeral in Wisconsin. The Lady War Eagles were over-matched by Springdale and Davis, who scored from all over the court. In one sequence, Davis drove inside from the perimeter, missed a shot, then put in the rebound while falling down. Heritage did not reach double figures until Pam Seiler banked in a 3-pointer with 58 seconds left in the first half.

7A-West girls hoops standings

Conf. All

Fayetteville........................ 8-0 16-3 Bentonville High...............5-3 16-5 Springdale High...............5-3 14-7 Van Buren.........................5-3 14-7 Rogers High..................... 4-4 11-10 Springdale Har-Ber .......... 4-4 12-10 Bentonville West..............1-7 8-12 Rogers Heritage...............0-8 5-15

Friday’s Games

Fayetteville 47, Bentonville High 41 (OT) Van Buren 42, Bentonville West 25 Springdale High 54, Rogers Heritage 38 Springdale Har-Ber 57, Rogers High 47

Tuesday’s Games

Van Buren at Bentonville High Bentonville West at Fayetteville Rogers High at Rogers Heritage Springdale High at Springdale Har-Ber

FULL GAME REPORTS ON THESE 7A-WEST GAMES CAN BE FOUND AT NWADG.COM .

SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 57, ROGERS HIGH 47

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