Har-Ber’s Fight Falls Short Against Lady Bears

— Springdale Har-Ber looked at times like a team ready to knock off one of the 7A-West Conference heavyweights Friday.

But with almost every big hit the Lady Wildcats had to offer, Fort Smith Northside came packed with more punch of their own.

The Lady Bears remained perfect in the 7A-West with a 65-56 win against Springdale Har-Ber, but needed a 6-0 run to end the first half and another key 19-3 run that stretched through the third and fourth quarters to hold off Har-Ber (12-14, 4-7).

“(Northside) definitely can get on some runs, and we had too many turnovers that didn’t help us either,” Lady Wildcats coach Sandy Wright said. “They’re just extremely athletic and they’re deeper than us, and we also had to sit Caroline (Eubanks) a large part of the third quarter with foul trouble.

“Then we bring her back in the fourth and right away she fouls out, so that didn’t help.”

Har-Ber appeared to be headed toward an early knockout blow by the Lady Bears (23-2, 11-0), but got six straight points from junior post Summer Morgan to rally for a 27-21 lead.

Northside responded, however, scoring six quick points before halftime to take a 28-27 lead.

“I thought our run right there before half was big,” Northside coach Rickey Smith said. “That gave us something and then we just hung in there.

“(Har-Ber) takes away a lot of our strengths because they’re so big, but I thought (guard) Ranneka Church was huge for us. This is a good road win for us and now we’ve got to get ready for another big one (today at Fayetteville).”

Har-Ber managed to stay even with the Lady Bears midway through the third quarter, trailing just 34-33 with 3 minutes, 53 seconds left in the period. But Northside ended the quarter on a 10-2 run, then start the fourth quarter scoring nine of the next 10 points to put the Lady Wildcats away.

“I’m real proud of our kids because they played hard and they didn’t quit,” Wright said. “We could have quit there early and at the end of the game, but this team never quits.

“Northside just has a lot of seniors and they’re a good team, and we’re still young.”

Morgan finished with 16 points and eight rebounds and Jessica Olson added 13 points for the Lady Wildcats. Bell contributed 12 points for Northside to go along with Church’s game-high 19.

In the girls junior varsity game, Brooke Schneider scored 15 points to lead Har-Ber in a 55-39 loss against Northside.

Har-Ber will face another top team from the West on Tuesday when it visits Fayetteville. The Lady Bears return to action today at Fayetteville.

Girls Prep Basketball

7A-West Conference

FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE 65

SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 56

Northside 13 15 16 21 — 65

Har-Ber 6 21 8 21 — 56

Northside (23-2, 11-0): Church 19, Bell 12, Blocker 8, Terry 8, McCay 7, Ware 4, Simpson 3, Rogers 2, Cummings 2.

Har-Ber (12-14, 4-7): Morgan 16, Olson 13, Wolf 8, Wright 6, Gartner 4, Dickard 4, Eubanks 3, Murr 2.

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