Heritage takes advantage of Lady Panthers’ drought
The Lady War Eagles outscored Siloam Springs 14-3 in the second quarter.
Siloam Springs’ girls have had a tendency to go through scoring droughts at times this season, and Rogers Heritage took full advantage Friday night.
The Lady War Eagles outscored the Lady Panthers 14-3 in the second quarter, including a big surge right before halftime, and rode that momentum to a 61-43 nonconference win inside Panther Activity Center.
The Lady Panthers’ only points of the third quarter came on a 3-pointer in the corner from Hannah Riley to make it 16-12. After that it was all Heritage, which went on an 11-0 run to close the half and take a 27-12 lead.
“We struggled to score in the second quarter, which is our Achilles Heel a little bit,” said Siloam Springs coach Tim Rippy. “We have bouts in different games where we struggle to score.”
Heritage led 22-12 inside the final minute when Carlee Casteel got a steal and dished to Maddie Lynge for an easy layup.
Heritage forced another Siloam Springs turnover and this time Lanee Knight canned a 3-pointer for a 27-12 lead.
“We’re OK at 22-12, but we had that one spurt where the pressure bothered us,” Rippy said. “Instead of going in (down) eight to 10 and us breaking the pressure and getting a good shot to finish the half, we turned it over a couple of times there and gave them a couple of easy ones, and that was important.”
Heritage also dominated the offensive glass, getting multiple second chance shots throughout the game.
“Girls did a good job of crashing the boards hard,” Heritage coach Josh Laymon said. “They were doing a pretty good job of guarding us first shot, but we were able to find the holes and get on the boards. Getting those extra possessions really did give us the opportunity to make that run there in the first half.”
Rippy acknowledged the Lady Panthers had a tough time keeping the Lady War Eagles off the boards.
“Even when we were in block out position and had a body on a body, they’re a tough team to block out because they’re so athletic and quick,” he said. “That was a challenge for us tonight. We knew that was going to be our biggest challenge coming into the game.”
Heritage maintained a comfortable lead throughout the second half, leading 43-24 at the end of the third quarter.
Lynge and Aleyshka Pabon each had 15 points to lead Heritage (7-6), while Knight finished with 13 points.
Jael Harried led Siloam Springs with 17 points.
Both teams are off until Jan. 3. Heritage plays Gravette, while Siloam Springs hosts Springdale in the opening game of its two-day Siloam Springs Holiday Classic.
Rogers Heritage 61,
Siloam Springs 43
Rogers Heritage 13 14 16 18 — 61 Siloam Springs 9 3 12 19 — 43 Rogers Heritage (7-6): Lynge 15, Pabon 15, Knight 13, Brooks 6, Casteel 5, Blockberger 3, Stitt 2, Seiler 2.
Siloam Springs (4-6): Harried 17, Fortner 8, Moorman 6, Riley 5, Winesburg 3, Hevener 2, Hernandez 2.
Siloam Springs 49, Bentonville West 38
CENTERTON — Tim Rippy’s halftime speech to the Siloam Springs’ girls Tuesday night probably could have been summed up in five words — get Jael Harried the basketball.
The senior forward accounted for 24 of her team’s 32 secondhalf points as the Lady Panthers snapped a two-game losing skid with a 49-38 nonconference victory over Bentonville West in Wolverine Arena.
“She was much more aggressive in the second half,” Rippy said. “And she can do that for us. She’s a good player, and we need to get her more opportunities, especially attacking the rim. A lot of times, it was off broken plays or a tipped ball and just attacking.
“We were aggressive in our trap and tried to force them to make some plays. I thought Jael did a great job of getting her hands on the ball and releasing out from the top of our zone. I think the rest of our kids fed off that.”
Harried opened the second half with 11 unanswered points and turned an 18-17 halftime deficit into a 28-18 lead for Siloam Springs, which lost four of its last five games entering Tuesday’s contest. West, however, answered with Jada Curtis, and she scored eight points during a 10-2 run that pulled the Lady Wolverines with 30-28 with 1 minute, 11 seconds left in the third quarter.
But Harried responded with five straight points over the last 63 seconds and stretched the Lady Panthers’ lead to a 35-28 margin to end the quarter. Harried then teamed up with Sydney Moorman to outscore West 14-10 over the final 8 minutes to secure the victory.
“To be honest, that was disappointing,” West coach Randy Richardson said. “They went on that run coming out of halftime, and we have two turnovers that turned into layups. Harried did
a real nice job, and she’s a good athlete — there ain’t no doubt.
“But I was disappointed in the way we played. Losing Marybeth Dyson kind of took the wind out of our sails.”
Dyson, the Lady Wolverines’ sophomore point guard, took a hard spill on the floor in the second half and never returned.
Harried finished with 33 points, while Moorman was the only other Lady Panther in double figures with 11. Curtis finished with 12 to lead West.
— Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette sportswriter Henry Apple contributed to this report.
Siloam Springs 49, Bentonville West 38
Siloam Springs 9 8 18 14 — 49
Bentonville West 10 8 10 10 — 38
Siloam Springs: Harried 33, Moorman 11, Winesburg 3, Hevener 1, Riley 1.
Bentonville West (3-5): Curtis 12, Tapp 9, Dyson 4, Phillips 4, Willis 3, Renick 2, Jones 2, Guevara 2.