HOT SPRINGS -- Sara and Tracey Bershers admit they are better teammates than sisters. Fortunately for Fort Smith Northside, they keep their disagreements from harming their on-court goals.
"Honestly, we argue about anything and everything," Sara said.
"Using each other's stuff," Tracey chimed in. "Me being late."
"She's always late, and that's a big thing," Sara said. "We're late to school every morning and I'm always in the car five minutes before she is."
"We get there before the bell rings," Tracey countered. "So, we're good."
The banter is sibling squabbling at its best.
And it stops when the two need to be serious.
"They are always chirping at each other off the court," Northside Coach Rickey Smith said. "But I've told them if they do it on the court that we're all going to run. That seems to get their attention. ... Actually, I think they're crazy about each other."
The Bershers sister act makes its final on-court performance in today's Class 6A state championship game at the Bank OZK Arena when the Lady Bears play Bentonville.
"That has been on my mind lately," said Tracey, a 6-1 sophomore. "We're probably not going to the same college, so this will be emotional for me. And I'm an emotional person anyway."
"I'm more focused on the game and trying to win it," said Sara, a 6-0 senior. "I haven't thought about it. I really don't want to think about it. I'm the type of person who will put it on the backburner until it happens. ... I can think about it afterwards. But it's bittersweet, for sure."
Both have been major contributors to the Lady Bears' 27-1 season. Sara is averaging 11.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.9 blocked shots a game. Tracey averages 8.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.0 blocks a game. Both shoot free throws at a better than 78 percent clip.
For the majority of their schooling, the sisters attended Caddo Hills High School in Norman (Montgomery County). They transferred to the Lake Hamilton School District for one year before finding a home in Fort Smith.
"We really didn't want to move [from Caddo Hills] at all," Tracey said. "But our parents decided we needed to leave. We went to Lake Hamilton for a year and we loved it there."
"It was the best thing we could have done," said Sara, who has signed to play with the University of Texas Rio Grande College next season. "Looking back, I'm thinking, 'Why didn't we do this sooner?' We love it at Northside. But it's a difficult thing to do when you're going through it."
While the sisters may not see eye-to-eye on things outside of basketball, the two have obviously found harmony while playing for Northside.
"I feel like we play well together," Sara said. "There are times when I say, 'Tracey, why did you do that?' You're so stupid.' "
"I do the same exact thing," Tracey said. "But I think we get along on the court because we know each other. We know what we can do and we know what we can't. We play well together."
Smith says he's thankful the sisters landed at Northside.
"We feel we have a good culture here at Northside and those two have definitely expanded that culture," Smith said.. "Both are a joy to coach."
Sports on 03/08/2019