RIVER VALLEY GAME OF THE WEEK
Springdale, Northside set to clash tonight
The Northside Grizzlies entertain the high-flying Springdale Bulldogs today at Northside Arena.
Springdale (16-4, 5-1) is locked in a race near the top of the 6A-West behind Bentonville West, which is undefeated in the conference, and Bentonville, which also has just one loss in the conference.
Northside (12-7, 3-3) is situated just behind that trio, which makes today’s game a key one for the Grizzlies.
“It is, especially with us sitting at 3-3,” Northside coach Eric Burnett said. “We need a win with us playing at home.”
Northside and Bentonville were tied at 14-14 after a quarter on Tuesday, but the Tigers used a 13-0 run in the second quarter to win 74-61. Northside has not shot the ball particularly well of late, but Burnett is hopeful tonight could be the game where his Grizzlies come alive.
“Being at home on a Friday night, shooting the ball like that would make things go a whole lot better,” Burnett said. “Right now, we’re having a little head case shooting the basketball. Any game, any moment, I feel like we can step out and start shooting it really well.”
Springdale is led by one of the top sophomores in the state in Court-land Muldrew, but the Bulldogs are anything but a one-man show with Isaiah Sealy a capable scorer, 6-5 senior Tevin Tate a force inside, and guard Zion Sanders and Aiden Gaza-way off the bench.
“They’re a really good team,” Burnett said. “We have to put up some points to stay with them because there is no way to stop them, they just have too many weapons. They’ve got Sealy, who can put the ball in the hole and several different ways. Against Har-Ber, he had the dunk and got the three-point play when they were down that put them up. Then Muldrew hit a step-back three to put the game out of reach.”
The Lady Bears (14-3, 5-1) also lost on the road at Bentonville on Tuesday, 51-38, but still sit atop the 6A-West.
Springdale (11-8, 2-4) has lost three-straight conference games, including an overtime 67-61 loss to Rogers on Tuesday.
The game will mark the first for Springdale coach Heather Hunsucker to visit the new Northside Arena. Hunsucker played for Northside coach Rickey Smith and was the point guard on Smith’s first state championship team in 1999 and was the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament of Champions earlier that season.
Red-hot Pointers
Van Buren moved into a first-place tie in the 5A-West with Tuesday’s 61-36 win over rival Alma. The Pointers (12-8, 3-1) sits with Greenbrier, Si-loam Springs and Harrison at the top of the conference.
The four-way tie will be broken up at least some on tonight with Van Buren visiting Harrison.
Mulberry rolling
The Lady Yellowjackets won their fourth-straight conference game and are near the top in the 1A-1 West as they turn the corner to the second half of conference play.
Mulberry (14-7, 7-1) defeated Saint Paul, 51-9, on Tuesday to remain just one game behind Thaden. The Lady Yellowjackets are idle today with The New School unable to field a girls’ team this season. They will then host Thaden on Tuesday with first place on the line.
Thaden defeated Mulberry, 46-38, right before Christmas at Thaden.
3A-4 showdown
The big game in the 3A-4 today is at Booneville where the Bearcats will host Cedarville.
Cedarville (8-9, 5-1) is just a game behind league-leader Charleston and is coming off an 82-62 win against Paris (10-7, 5-2), which is also near the top of the conference.
Cedarville’s Hayden Morton set a career mark on Tuesday night with 49 points in the win over Paris. Morton hit 4-of-8 3-point attempts and was 15-of-15 from the free-throw line. Booneville broke away from a tight game against Cossatot River with a game-ending 12-0 run for a 73-59 win.
2A-4 heating up
The 2A-4 girls’ conference is a little more interesting after Tuesday night. Hector (11-4, 5-1) rode a 40-point performance by Bree McCrotty to a 65-46 win over Mansfield to force a first-place tie.
Mansfield defeated Hector, 53-49, at Mansfield in early December in the conference opener.
Mansfield (17-3, 5-1) will try to bounce back today with a trip to Johnson County Westside before hosting Future School on Tuesday. Lavaca (14-7, 5-2) is sitting firmly in third place behind Mansfield and Hector, and hosts Magazine on Saturday.
That figures
49 – Points scored by Cedarville’s Hayden Morton on Tuesday
25 – Straight conference victories for the Lavaca Golden Arrows
22 – Straight conference wins for the Booneville Lady Bearcats
— Leland Barclay