Prep Basketball Report

Claudia Bridges spent two years as a distributor at point guard for former Fayetteville stars Sasha Goforth and Coriah Beck, who are both playing basketball in college this season.

Bridges is now a senior leader for Fayetteville and she showcased her scoring ability when she made six 3-pointers and finished with 30 points in a 75-41 victory over Bentonville West in 6A-West Conference play on Tuesday. Bridges took over in the second quarter and sparked a 13-2 surge with two 3-pointers. She continued to direct the offense and pile up points until leaving the game in the fourth quarter with Fayetteville (5-5, 1-0) well ahead.

"Claudia has that (scoring) ability," Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer said of Bridges, who signed in December to continue her basketball career at North Alabama. "When she plays like that, it just opens up a lot of things for the rest of our team."

Fayetteville received contribution in the backcourt on Tuesday from freshman Jayla Johnson and sophomore Wynter Beck, a cousin to Coriah Beck. Johnson scored 11 points while Beck added six in the win over Bentonville West.

"The physicality for a freshman is tough, but she is not afraid," Rimmer said of Johnson, who drove through traffic and got to the rim for shots. "She's a kid who wants to go hard. Wynter is another good, young talent. She's got a strong, athletic ability to get to the rim, too. Our expectations for Wynter are very high. She's going to be a great player for us."

Fayetteville continues 6A-West Conference play tonight at Rogers.

-- Rick Fires • @NWARick

ROGERS HIGH GIRLS

Lady Mounties coming together

The Lady Mounties (9-3, 1-0 6A-West) didn't get much of a preseason with many of their regulars also being key members of a state quarterfinalist in volleyball. But the veteran group has come together.

"What has pleasantly surprised me is how quickly we were able to gel and develop," coach Preston Early said. "Going through covid times and having a veteran group that knows how we operate has helped us start quickly. Five of our top eight played volleyball. We really didn't have our team from March until November.

"But our players' attitudes have been amazing toward work and taking on new roles and expanding their game. I really love this team and their attitude."

One positive is the Lady Mounties, who kicked off 6A-West Conference play with a big win over Fort Smith on Tuesday, have been able to play a full nonconference slate without any interruptions because of covid-19.

"I haven't missed playing in tournaments at all," Early said. "That's one thing that's been a surprise. We feel like we played a pretty high-quality nonconference schedule and we were able to play 12 times without and covid disruption.

"That helped us because there were. A lot of teams that didn't get to do that."

Rogers was an extremely one-dimensional team offensively a year ago, but this year's team has more balance.

"We felt like a big priority for us was we had to develop more scorers," Early said.

Senior Camiran Brockhoff and sophomore Aubrey Treadwell lead a more balanced attack, each averaging a shade over 12 points per game. Kate Miller averages a little more than nine and Taylor Treadwell is next at just under eight points per game.

However, Miller leads the team in rebounding (7.5) and Taylor Treadwell tops the Lady Mounties in assists (2.8).

-- Paul Boyd

• @NWAPaulB

SHILOH CHRISTIAN GIRLS

Lady Saints win 4A-1 opener

Bryan Rooney didn't get to enjoy a 4A-1 Conference win as Shiloh Christian's coach last season, but that all changed Tuesday night when the Lady Saints opened league play with a 52-37 victory over Berryville.

The win snapped a 15-game conference losing skid for Shiloh (11-2, 1-0), whose last conference win was a 42-38 decision over Gentry on Jan. 22, 2019.

"It felt like it had been more than that," said Rooney, the Lady Saints' second-year coach. "It was a big hurdle to clear. We were close to winning a conference game a couple of times last year, but we are fortunate to win one this year.

"It lets me know we have a group of girls heading in the right direction and trying to compete every night."

Shiloh already has more wins this year than it had all of last year, when the Lady Saints went 8-20 overall and 0-11 in 4A-1 games. A lot of it has to do with a trio of players that didn't play with the team last year.

Anna McCredy, a 6-foot-3 senior who missed all of last year with a knee injury, averages 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Hailey Tunnell, a 5-10 junior who sat out last year after she transferred from Bentonville, leads the team in scoring with an average of 16.4 points per game, while 5-8 freshman Delaney Roller averages 11.1 points per game.

"You put those three with the players we had coming back -- Acie Thurlby and Ryli Russ -- and I think we have turned a corner," Rooney said. "We have a great group that really works hard, and we made it a point to make basketball from March to November more interesting.

"It felt great to finally enjoy a conference win because our girls were able to get some validation for the hard work they have done. What I've been impressed with is these girls work hard, and they are not scared of a challenge. They put things together and it felt good to see it."

-- Henry Apple

• @NWAHenry

ROGERS HIGH BOYS

Mounties battling injuries, covid

If it weren't for bad luck, the Mounties would have no luck at all this season.

Heading into Tuesday's 6A-West Conference opener, Rogers had played just four games because of covid-19 protocols. Six scheduled games were wiped out because of the coronavirus, said coach Lamont Frazier.

"Between injuries and covid, we're without five of our top six (players)," Frazier said. "It's been quite frustrating, to say the least."

The Mounties claimed a 50-45 win against Fort Smith Southside on Tuesday. Will Liddell, who has been battling through injuries himself, came off the bench to score 18 points.

"The difficult thing is, we've had to go through the quarantine process twice," Frazier said. "We haven't been practicing and the times we have practiced, it's just been long enough to get together to play a game."

Rogers did christen its sparkling new arena with a win Tuesday, but Frazier said the atmosphere was almost like a road game.

"That's the first time we've played in something that big that wasn't on the road," Frazier said. "Practicing in there is one thing, but when you put those bodies in there, you get those juices flowing."

The Mounties will be at home tonight against Fayetteville.

-- Chip Souza

• NWAChip

OZARK BOYS

Hillbillies make adjustments

Losing some top players hasn't slowed the Ozark Hillbillies, who are ranked No. 5 in Class 4A.

Ozark is 11-2 on the season after finishing 23-9 last season as conference, district, and regional champs. But the strong roster of returning players was reduced when one player quit, another player broke his collarbone, and a third player did not gain eligibility.

"It's not the same team we expected, but we've been able to move some players around with different roles," Ozark coach Brad Johnson said.

Jaxson Harris has moved from shooting guard to point guard for Ozark, will faces Morrilton tonight in a 4A-4 Conference game. Garrett Schaffer (20 points per game) remains a top scorer at the guard and forward position while freshman 6-foot-5 Cooper Watson has emerged as a player to help fill a void on the inside for the Hillbillies.

"Cooper is averaging about 15 points per game and he's had some double-doubles," Johnson said. "He helps with our defense in the post and, on offense, he's an inside-outside type of scorer."

-- Rick Fires • @NWARick