Heritage Edges Fayetteville

— Rogers Heritage struggled to make shots around the basket early, but the Lady War Eagles drilled some big ones from the perimeter in the second half and added key free throws late.

Fayetteville 10 6 9 12 — 37

Heritage 10 9 8 16 — 43

Fayetteville (7-14, 3-5): Austin 15, Edie 9, Breden 4, Prude 4, Crockett 3, Schuldt 2.

Rogers Heritage (16-5, 6-2): B. Ward 17, Jobst 9, Lundy 6, Murray 6, A. Ward 5.

Junior Varsity: Fayetteville 40, Rogers Heritage 29.

That added up to a 43-37 7A/6A-West Conference basketball victory for Heritage on Friday night at War Eagle Arena.

Sophomore Emilie Jobst drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter to help Heritage take control. Senior guard Brittany Ward then hit 10-of-12 from the free-throw line in the quarter to help the Lady War Eagles (16-5, 6-2 7A/6A-West) put the game away.

Heritage coach Kevin Ramey said his team struggled to execute offensively, but credited Fayetteville’s defense. But Jobst and Lacey Murray combined for five second-half 3-pointers to give Heritage, which never trailed, some breathing room.

“I thought they were really physical and as hard to score on as anybody we’ve played,” Ramey said. “At halftime we talked about toughness and in the second half I thought we shared the ball a little better.

“Emilie and Lacey stepped up and made some big perimeter shots for us. In a tight game, we’ve got a lot of belief in those guys’ ability to make shots.”

Ward was the only Heritage player in double figures, scoring a game-high 17, while Jobst added nine on three 3-pointers.

Brittany Austin, a 5-foot-10 senior, led Fayetteville (7-14, 3-5) with 15, while Aubrey Edie added nine.

Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer said Ward and Heritage’s 3-point shooting were the difference.

“I thought we played pretty good defensively, Rimmer said. “If we don’t foul them the score’s probably in the 30s. We’ve struggled from the perimeter most of the year. But our kids play hard every night.”

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