SPRINGDALE — Springdale Har-Ber used its advantage inside to beat Springdale for the second time in 7A/6A-West Conference play.
But instead of Marleeya Montgomery doing the damage, it was senior Tayleah Neal who provided the offensive punch in Tuesday’s rematch.
Neal finished with 22 points and 20 rebounds to lead Har-Ber to a 48-34 victory over the Lady Bulldogs at Wildcat Arena. Neal’s big night came at a good time for Har-Ber (16-10, 7-4), especially with Montgomery sitting on the bench with an injured knee cap she suffered last week against Bentonville. Montgomery scored 17 when Har-Ber beat Springdale 42-40 on Jan. 15.
Neal dominated inside in both halves and she punctuated her performance with a rebound and three-point play to set the final margin.
“Tayleah struggled a little bit early with her shooting, but she snapped out of it and played a great game,” Har-Ber coach Sandy Wright said. “I’m really proud of her. Had she made a few more free throws, she would’ve scored 30 points easy.”
Har-Ber’s inside dominance was such that the Lady Wildcats made only one 3-pointer and 7 of 24 free throws, including 6 of 13 by Neal. Har-Ber finished with 44 rebounds, including 15 on the offensive end. Sophomore forward Bailey Schalk added 12 points for the Lady Wildcats, who led 22-12 at halftime.
Springdale showed some fight in the third quarter and cut its deficit to 28-22 after a steal and layup by Javonda Daniels. Brittany Jurgens led the Lady Bulldogs’ comeback effort with 15 points.
“We get behind in conference play, then all of a sudden here comes a run,” Springdale coach Heather Hunsucker said. “That’s been the theme for us all season. Tonight, when we pulled the game close, Har-Ber had another run in them with their post players.”
Har-Ber used an active defense and the inside scoring of Neal to lead 22-12 at halftime. Har-Ber had three tries at the basket before Neal finished the possession with a layup to put the Lady Wildcats ahead 17-6.
Har-Ber then showed good ball movement on the break when Neal hit Samantha Weber with an outlet pass and Weber threw to Haley McCarver for the score. The basket prompted a timeout by Springdale (6-17, 1-10) with the Lady Bulldogs trailing 19-6.
Springdale got to within 28-24 before Har-Ber began to pull away again after Neal rebounded a missed shot and made two free throws. She added two more baskets, including a lob inside from Weber, to put the Lady Wildcats ahead 36-26 with five minutes, eight seconds left in the game.
“Their post players guarded us hard, but our timing was good on passing and catching,” Wright said.
Springdale 6 6 10 12 — 34
Springdale Har-Ber 9 13 6 20 — 48
Springdale (6-17, 1-10): Jurgens 15, Long 2, Daniels 7, Wood 6, Billingsley 2, Perez 2.
Springdale Har-Ber (16-10, 7-4): Neal 22, Schalk 12, Wright 6, McCarver 6, Weber 2.
BOYS
SPRINGDALE 59, HAR-BER 57 (OT)
Alex Scharlau scored 29 points and Dashaun Stark 18 to lead Springdale to an overtime victory over rival Har-Ber.
Alex Rice tied the game in the fourth quarter on a rebound basket with 46 seconds remaining. The game then went into overtime when Dashaun Stark missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Har-Ber had a final opportunity in overtime after Josiah Wymer missed a free throw with 6.8 seconds left and the Wildcats trailing 59-57. But Rickey Jones missed a jump shot and the Wildcats couldn’t convert on a rebound attempt at the basket before time ran out.
Alex Rice finished with 17 points to lead Har-Ber, which overcame a 14-2 deficit to lead 25-24 at halftime. Springdale regained control in the third quarter to lead 41-36 after three.
Springdale 23 1 17 11 7 — 59
Har-Ber 7 18 11 16 5 — 57
SPRINGDALE (16-8, 8-3): Scharlau 29, Stark 18, Eckwood 5, Tutt 3, Gause 2, Wymer 2.
HAR-BER (6-17, 3-8): Rice 17, R. Jones 11, Fox 10, Buccheri 8, L. Jones 5, Davis 4, Jester 2.