Heritage Wins In OT

LADY WAR EAGLES EARN TOUGH CONFERENCE VICTORY

Brittany Ward, Rogers Heritage guard, tries to spin past Fayetteville defender Jaylah Prude on Friday at Bulldog Arena in Fayetteville.
Brittany Ward, Rogers Heritage guard, tries to spin past Fayetteville defender Jaylah Prude on Friday at Bulldog Arena in Fayetteville.

After losing in double overtime a year ago to Fayetteville, Rogers Heritage girls basketball coach Kevin Ramey had a little twinge of deja vu when the Lady Purple Bulldogs threw in a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to force overtime Friday.

But the Lady War Eagles (11-3, 1-0 7A/6A-West Conference) regained their composure, got key baskets and made free throws in the extra period to earn the 50-48 victory.

Ramey saw his players react when Fayetteville forced overtime.

“You saw their shoulders kinda slump there,” Ramey said. “So we knew immediately we had to refocus them and regroup. But we had four seniors on the floor who have been in some of these situations. The resolve they showed was something to see. There wasn’t any panic.”

The War Eagles (9-4, 0-1) stayed close for a half against the league favorite Purple Bulldogs, but couldn’t keep pace in the second half, falling 59-32.

Heritage was outscored 38-17 in the final two quarters after trailing 21-15 at halftime. The War Eagles made just 10 of 35 field goal attempts for the game, but Heritage coach Tom Olsen said Fayetteville’s length made getting shots difficult. But he also noted his team also wasn’t patient enough at times.

PLAY OF THE NIGHT: Brittany Ward scored four straight points to start overtime to put Heritage back in control 47-43. Fayetteville had sent the game into overtime and added a free throw in the fi nal seconds.

PLAYERS OF THE GAMES: Senior guard Brittany Wardscored 16 points, including five in overtime, to go with six assists, five rebounds and five steals to help the Lady War Eagles earn a huge 7A /6A-West Conference road win. Ward also hit 10 of 13 free throws in the game. Ashley Ward also shared team honors with 16 points. Hayden Greenway was Heritage’s only player in double figures with 12 points on 4 of 6 3-pointers.

NOTABLE: Junior Crist Olsen, Heritage’s leading scorer, was limited to four points. ... Brittany Ward, Ashley Ward and Ellen Lundy combined for all but fi ve of the Lady War Eagles’ 50 points against Fayetteville. ... The Lady War Eagles made20 of 27 (74 percent) from the free-throw line. ... Lundy scored 13 points despite not practicing all week. She participated in a national soccer showcase in Florida and flew home Friday morning in time for a walk-through prior to the game.

THE LINGO: “We’ve never been there before, so this is new to us. Now we have to go protect it Tuesday night.” - KEVIN RAMEY Rogers Heritage girls coach, on his team’s 1-0 start in conference play

UP NEXT: Rogers Heritage has a pair of home games this week, but it gets no easier in the 7A/6A-West. Both Springdale and Bentonville teamsopened league play with victories on Friday.

The Lady Red’Dogs came up with the upset by knocking off Rogers High and should present another tough challenge Tuesday night. The Heritage boys team will try to bounce back, after having its three-game winning streak snapped at Fayetteville.

Sports, Pages 9 on 01/06/2013

Upcoming Events