PREP BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

Saturday, December 8, 2012

LADY TIGERS CRUISE TO TITLE GAME

Julia Garrard scored 11 points, and Taylor Lee added 10 points and 13 rebounds as Bentonville cruised to a 46-26 win over Tulsa Memorial in the semifinals of the Vinita (Okla.) Tournament.

The Lady Tigers dominated the boards, outrebounding Memorial 47-23 to get points around the basket and build a double-digit lead. Jasmine Secrest had six points in the win.

Bentonville will face Cascia Hall at 7:30 p.m. today in the tournament’s championship game.

“It’s the type of game in which the kids did a good job of grinding it out,” said Tom Halbmaier, Bentonville girls basketball coach. “The good thing about it is in each quarter the kids were challenged.” LADY MOUNTIES RECORD BIG WIN

Taylor Strickland scored 28 points, and MacKinzie James added 13 points and six assists as Rogers High defeated Rogersville, Mo., 68-43 at the Stephanie Phillips Classic in Springfi eld, Mo.

Libby Ganoung added seven points for the Lady Mounties while Samantha Warren fi nished with fi ve.

“The balanced scoring was a big deal,” said Preston Early, Rogers girls basketball coach. “We are seeing our kids shoot the ball and drive the ball with confi dence. Our chemistry is getting better. We are going in the right direction.”

The Lady Mounties (5-2) will play Springfield Parkview at 2 p.m.

today.

LADY WAR EAGLES FALL TO MUSKOGEE

Rogers Heritage held a sixpoint lead in the first half against Muskogee, Okla., on Friday, then lost its point guard to injury and ultimately the game.

The Roughers put together a big run after Heritage’s Brittany Ward left the game and rolled past the Lady War Eagles 62-34 in the semifi nals of the Tahlequah Tiger Invitational.

Ward injured her knee and didn’t return to the game. Heritage coach Kevin Ramey said her condition was unknown after the game.

The Lady War Eagles (4-3) will play today at 4 p.m. in the third-place game. Sophomore Emilie Jobst led Heritage with 14 points, while Ashley Ward chipped in 12.

SILOAM SPRINGS TOPS GREENWOOD

Dylan Gray scored a careerhigh 23 points and pulled down nine rebounds, while teammate Payton Henson had 19 points and 11 rebounds as Siloam Springs beat host Greenwood 69-60 in the fi nal game of the Yeagers/H.B Stewart Classic.

Siloam Springs finished the round robin with a 3-0 record and improved to 7-0 on the season.

Gray was named to the alltournament team, while Henson was the Most Valuable Player. The Panthers held a 15-11 lead after the first quarter and a 29-26 advantage at halftime. Siloam Springs led 47-38 going into the fourth quarter.

Shane Carlson and Reece Goddard each added eight points for the Panthers. Greenwood dropped to 4-3.

In the girls’ game, Greenwood took a 39-29 lead into halftime and extended that margin in the secondhalf in a 21-point win against the Lady Panthers.

Bailee Owens led Siloam Springs (4-3) with 13 points, while Morgan Miller had 12 and Mayse Pippin 10.

HAR-BER CAN’T KEEP UP PACE

Springdale Har-Ber started fast but faded badly during its second-round game Friday in the Bixby (Okla.) Invitational.

Host Bixby won the game 46-36 after trailing 15-4 in the opening quarter.

“We didn’t make a field goal the last 10 minutes and one second,” said Adam Simmons, Har-Ber boys basketball coach. “We couldn’t fi nish.”

Braxton Jester scored 19 points for Har-Ber (1-6), which will face Claremore, Okla., in a third-round game at 11:30 a.m. today. The Wildcats opened the tournament by losing 59-48 to Tulsa Edison on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Har-Ber girls defeated Neosho, Mo., 55-25 in the first round of the Joplin (Mo.) Invitational. Caylee Wright and Samantha Weber each scored 13 points and combined for 13 steals for the Lady Wildcats, who led 24-11 at halftime.

“Our defensive guard play has improved quite a bit,” said Sandy Wright, Har-Ber girls basketball coach. “Getting those steals help create our offense.”

Sophomore guard Paige Redmond added six points and three steals, while Bailey Schalk contributed eight points and fi ve rebounds.

Har-Ber (4-2) advanced to the second round, where the Lady Wildcats played a late game on Friday.

RED’DOG BOYS LOSE, GIRLS WIN

Alex Scharlau scored 20 points, but Springdale High came up short in Friday’s 66-58 loss to Putnam City, Okla., on the second day of the Bixby (Okla.) Tournament.

DaShaun Stark added 12 points during a back-and-forth game in which the Bulldogs (3-3) led 36-32 at halftime and were up 1 heading into the fourth quarter.

“We played extremely hard. I thought it was a well-played game by both teams,” said Brad Stamps, Springdale boys basketball coach.

“We gave great effort and played really hard. Just at the end of the day we came up a little short.”

Springdale will face either Stillwater, Okla., or Tulsa Edison at 5:30 p.m. in the tournament’s thirdplace game.

In the girls’ game, Brittany Jurgens scored 13 points and Baiyinnah Taylor and Karen Perez added 11 each, as Springdale earned a 52-38 win over host Durant at the Durant Lion Classic.

The Lady Bulldogs (2-4) got off to a fast start, taking a 24-10 lead into halftime and heading into the fourth quarter up 35-17.

“I felt like we came out more aggressive on offense and defense.

That’s something we challenged them on,” said Heather Hunsucker, Springdale girls basketball coach.

“Let’s get to the free-throw line more.”

Springdale will face Norman (Okla.) North at 12:40 p.m. today in the tournament’s consolation fi nals.

Sports, Pages 7 on 12/08/2012