Drewry, Wood go on scoring binges

There’s an old adage in basketball that says it’s hard to beat the same team three times in a row.

Bergman’s girls can attest to the reality of it after losing 50-44 to Valley Springs in the championship game of the 3A-1 Conference Tournament. Senior guard Eliza Drewry led the way for Valley Springs by scoring 21 points against Bergman (35-3), which began the week ranked No. 1 in Class 3A.

For her effort, Drewry is the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Girls Player of the Week.

Bergman had an 18-game winning streak that included 17and 32-point victories over Valley Springs before taking on the Tigers a third time in the conference tournament. Bergman played the tournament game without injured forward Ruby Trammell, but her inside presence wouldn’t have altered the outside accuracy from Drewry, who was 5 of 6 on three-point attempts in the game.

Drewry made 3 three-pointers during an 11-0 run to start the second half for Valley Springs.

“Eliza was huge for us in the game on Friday,” Valley Springs Coach Ryan Johnson said. “She hit big timely threes and had a couple nice finishes around the rim. She has been a big key to our defense in how hard she plays on that end all year. It was great to see her have such a good scoring night. I am hoping it lifts her confidence, and we can get rolling at the right time.”

Hayden Wood of Springdale Har-Ber in the NWADG Boys Player of the Week.

Wood is an all-around athlete who made first team all-conference in football with 52 catches for 755 yards and 12 touchdowns. Wood also is a starter on Har-Ber’s basketball team, and he scorched Fort Smith Southside for five three-pointers and 33 points in an 82-61 victory last Friday.

For the season, Wood is shooting 52% from the field and 75% from the free-throw line.

“Hayden is a huge part of our offense and has been all year,” Har-Ber Coach Tommy Deffebaugh said. “When he plays well and scores 12 or more points, it takes a lot of pressure off Courtland [Muldrew] and Jaxon [Conley]. He can score the ball from three levels. He’s really long and bouncy, a tough matchup for our opponents.”

Wood’s scoring outburst last week could provide another weapon for Har-Ber (25-2, 13-1) in today’s showdown against Fayetteville (25-3, 13-1) at Wildcat Arena. The teams are tied for first in the 6A-West with two conference games remaining.

“Hopefully, that game against Southside helped his confidence and let him know that when he’s aggressive, he’s as good as anyone,” Deffebaugh said. “Our coaching staff has known he had it in him the whole time. It’s up to him to just go out and do it.”