Late first-half spurt helps lift Har-Ber

BENTONVILLE — When Springdale Har-Ber’s girls scored six straight points to end the first half, the only significance the spurt had at the moment was that it gave the Lady Wildcats a halftime lead.

It turned out to be an advantage Har-Ber never relinquished en route to a 5449 victory over Bentonville during 6A-West Conference action Tuesday night at Tiger Arena in a game where neither team could put together a big offensive run.

“Every little possession mattered,” Lady Wildcats Coach Kimberly Jenkins said. “They did a really good job of junking us up with some defense in the first half and a little bit in the second half. It just changed the game up a little bit.

“It was something a little different than what we were used to seeing. Madisen Campbell’s bucket with 1:38 before halftime broke a 21-21 deadlock, then Jazmine McCarther and Myah Haney each scored to give HarBer (12-5, 3-1) a 27-21 lead. Delaney Roller then started off the second half with a three-pointer and made it a nine-point margin, but that turned out to be the biggest run either team could muster.

Bentonville (8-10, 2-2) responded with eight straight points — six by Cambrie Phillips — and made it 30-29 after a Phillips three-pointer with 6:05 left in the third quarter. Har-Ber then went on to extend its lead to nine on two more occasions, including a 44-35 cushion to end the third quarter.

Phillips, who finished with a game-high 25 points, had seven straight points to start the fourth quarter and pulled the Lady Tigers within 44-42 with 4:54 remaining, but that was as close as Bentonville could get. Har-Ber then responded with two free throws and a bucket by Haney and a bucket by Makenlie Campbell to get the cushion it needed to win.

“Both teams were really good defensively,” Bentonville Coach Tom Halbmaier said. “On our end, we couldn’t settle down and hit the close shots in the first half, and it was the telling tale, so to speak.

“The kids played hard. Both teams played hard and got after it. It was physical and aggressive, and we just came up short.”

Makenlie Campbell had 13 points to lead Har-Ber, while Alexa Fitzgerald finished with 12. Arden Lewis was the only other Bentonville player in double figures with 10.

It took an adjustment, especially with us being a young team, to figure out how to make those adjustments on our own.”

Springdale Har-Ber Coach Kimberly Jenkins