PREP BASKETBALL: Har-Ber Sweeps Stilwell
LADY WILDCATS SHOW FLASHES OF EXCELLENCE IN BENEFIT GAME
Posted: November 11, 2009 at 5:29 a.m.
Springdale Har-Ber’s Chris Bayles shoots over a Stilwell, Okla., player Tuesday in Springdale.
SPRINGDALE — Not all of them performed like they had the past few weeks. But the Springdale Har-Ber Lady Wildcats did enough during their 50-43 benefit-game victory over Stilwell, Okla., to leave coach Sandy Wright encouraged for this season.
Har-Ber mixed plenty of positive flashes with a bevy of negative moments Tuesday night in Wildcat Arena.
“Some of our kids didn’t play as well as they’ve been practicing, but I was pleased with it,” Wright said. “We were able to judge what we need to work on most, so that was real important. We learned that we definitely need to work on free throws and cutting down on turnovers.”
Senior guard Halee Castleman and sophomore guard Jessica Olson paced the Lady Wildcats with 13 points apiece.
Junior forward Maggie Gartner added 10 as Har-Ber prepared for its official season opener Friday night at Elkins.
Sloppy play marred parts of the contest. Har-Ber forced 23 turnovers, but the Lady Wildcats committed 22 themselves. The teams combined for 42 fouls, and Har-Ber made only 11 of its 23 freethrow tries, including 6 of 14 in the fourth quarter.
Still, the Lady Wildcats impressed Wright with the way they hounded Stilwell, which started fi ve seniors.
“They’re a seasoned team, so it was nice to get after them with our defense,” Wright said. “Our goal was to hold them under 45 points, and we did that.”
The 5-foot-2 Olson helped Har-Ber take a 17-10 lead after the first quarter, nailing three 3-pointers and tallying 12 of her points.
“She also had 22 points in the (junior varsity) game (Monday) night, and she’ll be a big asset for us,” Wrightsaid. “She’s a great shooter, and she has a lot of court savvy. She makes everyone around her better.” Har-Ber 58, Stilwell 39 BOYS - Har-Ber finished off its benefit-game sweep by outscoring Stilwell 20-9 in the fourth quarter. Junior guard Matt Bradley led the Wildcats with 18 points, senior forward Matt Toomerscored 13 and senior forward Chris Bayles added nine.
Senior forward Jason Holmstrom drained a 3-pointer to give Har-Ber an early 9-1 lead, and Stillwell cut the deficit to eight points only twice the rest of the game.
The Wildcats drained all nine of their free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter.
Sports, Pages 6 on 11/11/2009
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