Both Rogers Heritage basketball teams will try to right the ship this week, after suffering big losses against Bentonville on Friday night.
That Figures
1 — Points the Lady War Eagles scored in the first quarter against Bentonville
0 — Points scored by the War Eagles in the third quarter against Bentonville
8 — Winning streak Heritage girls had snapped Friday by Bentonville
The Lady War Eagles never recovered from a painfully slow start in a 57-48 loss to Bentonville.
Heritage (12-4, 2-1 in 7A/6A-West) is now in a three-way tie for second place in the conference and coach Kevin Ramey reminded his team there is still a long way to go in the 14-game conference schedule.
“We told our kids we’re 2-1 now and that was just one game in a 14-game schedule and it doesn’t make your or break you,” Ramey said. “We’ll come back and we’ll be better. But Bentonville gave us a pretty good lesson.”
The Heritage boys team got off to a much better start than the Lady War Eagles, but also ultimately fell victim to a big run as well and now sit 0-3 in the 7A/6A-West. Bentonville outscored Heritage 25-0 in the third quarter to turn a 27-26 deficit into a 51-27 advantage.
War Eagles coach Tom Olsen said he thought his team’s defensive effort wasn’t what it needed to be against Bentonville.
“They got some easy shots going to the basket,” Olsen said. “That’s what happens in the 7A-West when you don’t bring your ‘A’ game.”
Play of the Night: There wasn’t a single play that turned Heritage games this week, but a combination. The Lady War Eagles put together a 12-0 second-quarter run to take control against Springdale High on their way to a 62-37 victory. Bentonville turned the tables on Heritage on Friday night.
The Lady Tigers outscored Heritage 19-1 in the opening quarter and held the Lady War Eagles without a field goal for the first 9 minutes, 38 seconds of the game. If the Bentonville girls team threw a quick knockout punch, their male counterparts bounced off the ropes to deliver a crushing blow in the form of a 29-0 run in the second and third quarters.
Players of the Games: Senior Hayden Greenway averaged 18 points in Heritage’s two games this week. The 5-foot-10 guard leads the War Eagles in scoring in league play, averaging 16 points a game. Sophomore Emilie Jobst hit nine 3-pointers in two games this week. She led the team with 21 in the win over Springdale and 14 in the loss to Bentonville on Friday.
Notable: The Lady War Eagles had a school-record eight-game winning streak snapped by Bentonville on Friday. ... The War Eagles led the entire first half against Bentonville, before being outscored 25-0 in the third quarter.
The Lingo: “Every season you have stretches where you play really well, but you have to brace yourself for things like now. We’ve got to withstand it and get ready to play Van Buren at Van Buren. It’s a place we obviously didn’t want to be, but it’s a place we knew we could be when we saw the schedule.”
Tom Olsen
Rogers Heritage boys coach, on his team’s 0-3 start in the conference
Up Next: After two consecutive home games, Heritage will hit the road this week to take on Van Buren and Springdale Har-Ber. Tuesday night’s games against Van Buren are huge for both Heritage teams. The Lady War Eagles will try to bounce back from their first conference loss. In the boys game, one team will come out with its first league win. Both teams have started conference play 0-3.