SPRINGDALE — Things haven’t gone exactly as planned recently for the Springdale Har-Ber girls basketball team.
After a 3-4 finish in the fi rst half of the 7A-West Conference schedule, followed by a win against rival Springdale to start the second half, the Lady Wildcats were optimistic about their chances to move up in the league race.
Since then, though, losses to Fort Smith Southside, Bentonville and Fort Smith Northside now have Har-Ber in a tough spot, at 4-7 in the West and sitting in sixth place in the conference standings.
And things won’t get much easier this week when the Lady Wildcats visit Fayetteville Tuesday before hosting Rogers High in a makeup game on Thursday.
“I think their coach is taking this harder than they are,” Har-Ber’s Sandy Wright said. “But we need to have a good week this next week.
“This isn’t the way I thought the year was going to go exactly. But you’ve got to play the card you’re dealt.”
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Springdale Har-Ber senior guard Matt Bradley had one of his most productive weeks as a Wildcat, even if his team continued to struggle.
Bradley scored a team-high 14 pointsin a 54-42 loss at Bentonville on Tuesday, then backed that up with a 25-point effort in Har-Ber’s 74-65 home loss on Friday against Fort Smith Northside. The Lady Wildcats got 13 points and 15 rebounds from Caroline Eubanks at Bentonville, then 16 points and eight rebounds from Summer Morgan in the loss to Northside, making the two juniors the most notable performers of the week for the Har-Ber girls.
PLAYS OF THE WEEK: Har-Ber was tied, 21-21, at the half with Bentonville before a cold stretch in the third quarter spelled doom for the Lady Wildcats.
“We just came out in the third quarter and didn’t shoot the ball well,” Wright said. “We played pretty good defense, but we didn’t shoot it well enough.”
NOTABLE: The current three-gamelosing streak for the Lady Wildcats is their longest of the season, matching a three-game skid from Dec. 11-27 against Webb City, Mo., Jenks, Okla. and Steele, Texas ... The Har-Ber girls still have a chance to receive the No. 4, 5 or 6 seed out of the 7A-West in the state tournament, but have been eliminated from getting one of the top three seeds ... The Lady Wildcats (12-14, 4-7) must win out this week to avoid a losing regular season.
THE LINGO: “I’m proud of our seniors for continuing to fight. I knowit’s been a tough and difficult year for them in many ways, but they’ve never given up.” - ADAM SIMMONS, Har-Ber first-year boys basketball coach
UP NEXT: Har-Ber visits Fayetteville on Tuesday, then rounds out the regular season with a pair of home games Thursday and Friday.
The Wildcats and Lady Wildcats host Rogers High on Thursday in a set of makeup games before the regular season finale against Rogers Heritage on Friday.
Sports, Pages 7 on 02/21/2011