Lady Mounties clear early hurdle

SILOAM SPRINGS — Rogers found its footing after a slow start Wednesday in a 44-36 win against Siloam Springs.

The Lady Mounties rallied from a 15-4 deficit at the end of the first quarter to get within one at halftime and eventually took the lead in the third quarter.

“We felt like we were competing hard in the first quarter,” Rogers girls’ basketball coach Preston Early said. “We felt like we were a little timid and Siloam came out and took the fight to us and got us on our heels. It just was a matter of us deciding we wanted to put up a fight and that we were going to compete. That’s kind of what we challenged them with at the end of the first quarter. Then I thought when we started guarding harder and trying to take away things, rather than just catching what they do. We were just reacting and letting them come at us. We started getting after it. We were able to create some turnovers. We were able to create some transition opportunities and that got our confidence going a little bit.”

Rogers outscored Siloam Springs 12-2 in the second quarter, including a layup to beat the buzzer by Camiran Brockhoff, to pull within 17-16.

“We got sloppy in the second quarter with turnovers,” said Siloam Springs coach Tim Rippy. “That allowed them to get some momentum. Of course they started making some shots there in the second quarter. Really we weren’t very clean offensively for the last three quarters. They do a a great job defensively.”

The Lady Mounties took their first lead with 4 minutes, 10 seconds left in the third on a 3-pointer from freshman Ava Maner, who scored all of her game-high 12 points in the second half.

With the game tied at 29 going into the fourth, Rogers took the lead for good on a 3-pointer from Brockhoff and a putback from Kate Miller to go up 34-29.

Mia Hevener connected on her third 3-pointer to bring Siloam Springs within 34-32.

Maner came back and scored baskets on three straight possessions while Rogers forced three straight turnovers as the Lady Mounties pulled ahead 40-32.

“She’s got that kind of playmaking ability,” Early said of the freshman Maner. “It was great to see her feel sure of herself. That’s been a climb for her, and she’s really put together about 10 good days here where she looks like she’s really coming on and going to fill a role for us. She’s a kid we’ve got high hopes for — a hard worker, loves basketball.”

Aubrey Treadwell and Brockhoff each scored nine points for Rogers, while Kate Miller had eight as the Lady Mounties won for the third time in three days.

Brooke Ross led Siloam Springs with 10 points. The Lady Panthers were playing for the first time in nearly two weeks.

“I just told Preston that I thought we played really well in the first quarter and they played well in the second quarter,” Rippy said. “The rest of the game both of us kind of mucked it up. It was kind of an ugly game. It was their third game in three days and it was our first game in 14 days. For both teams it kind of looked like that in the second half. Neither team really got rolling on either end. It was just kind of a struggle out there. Credit his kids for making enough plays to win the ballgame.”