Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Victory extra special for Roller
SPRINGDALE — Senior Night was extra special for Delaney Roller.
Roller not only led Springdale Har-Ber to a victory, the senior co-captain surpassed 1,000 points for her career in the process. Roller scored 22 points to lead Har-Ber to a 69-51 win over Rogers Heritage in 6A-West Conference action Tuesday night at Wildcat Arena.
Roller went into locker room at halftime with 999 career points for the Lady Wildcats, who led 33-3. After Sophie Sarratt tied the game for Heritage, Roller put HarBer back on top with a freethrow line jumper.
That basket prompted the public address announcer to say, “Welcome Delaney Roller to the 1,000-point club at Har-Ber.” Roller clapped her hands briefly as play continued. She then hustled back down court and went into a defensive stance against Heritage, which kept the game close over 2 1/2 quarters.
“[Roller] got going early and she had a great night,” Har-Ber Coach Kimberly Jenkins said. “Her teammates know to feed her when she gets going and they did a great job of that.”
Roller had eight points in the third quarter when HarBer outscored Heritage 20-12. Madisen Campbell added 20 points for Har-Ber (18-8, 9-4), while Sophie Sarratt scored 24 to lead Heritage (10-17, 4-10).
Har-Ber began to gain some distance from Heritage when Roller banked in a shot high off the backboard then followed with a three-pointer to help the Lady Wildcats to a 30-20 lead. But Heritage fought back and cut the HarBer lead to 33-31 when Ella Williamson threw in a bank shot at the buzzer.
Roller went over 1,000 points after making her first shot in the third quarter when Har-Ber regained control.
“I had no idea the exact amount of points I had here, so it was a total shock when he said [1,000 points] over the loudspeaker,” said Roller, who played her freshman season at Shiloh Christian. “My parents and my teammates have supported me a lot. It’s a blessing. But I’m team-oriented and the most important thing was to win the game.”
Har-Ber will play at Fort Smith Southside on Friday before ending conference play next week with games against Fayetteville and Springdale. Heritage ends conference play next week with games against Bentonville West and Fort Smith Northside. The Lady War Eagles are off on Friday.