JUNIOR HIGH NOTEBOOK: Lady Wranglers Face Tough Week

Springdale George remains atop of the girls Northwest Arkansas Conference basketball standings after a pair of key wins against Bentonville Gold and Fayetteville Woodland last week.

The Lady Wranglers face Rogers High tonight before playing at Fayetteville Ramay on Thursday. George and Ramay are tied for the conference lead at 7-1.

The Cowgirls led George 18-11, but the Lady Wranglers outscored Woodland 14-4 in the second period and 14-2 in the fourth period.

“I told the girls the key to last night’s game was to rebound well and handle the pressure and hit the gaps in their full and half court press,” George coach Valeri Turner said. “Once they started pushing the ball in the fourth quarter, everything started to click for us.”

Maya Hood is a solid rebounder and is one of George’s leading scorers while Ryann Goodsell is a force in the paint. Tylee Sysavanh, Chasidee Owens, Desiree Mack and Sara O’Neal are also making big contributions, Turner said. Mack scored 12 points in the win against Woodland.

George faces a tough Rogers High team tonight before facing a Ramay team they beat 40-33 earlier in the year.

“I believe the keys to our season were our first kick off conference win against Ramay,” Turner said. “This week is a huge challenge and could set the tempo for the rest of the season.”

Black On Roll

Bentonville Black stayed a game behind league-leaders Woodland and Central in the boys standings after a 38-33 loss to Siloam Springs Thursday. Black (5-3) is tied with Ramay and George and only the top four teams advance to the regional tournament.

“The conference is really balanced this year,” Black coach Brian Ward said. “You have to come ready to play every night or you could get beat.”

Tyler Robinson leads a balanced offensive attack with 11 points a game. Nick Gibson and Luke Bennett are averaging nine points an outing for the Tigers.

Rogers Girls

Rogers High is in the thick of the race for a regional spot but the Lady Mounties have a tough week ahead with games against George and Bentonville Black.

“We have been up and down,” Lady Mounties coach Jamie Rains said. “We are working on being more consistent and mentally tougher.”

Kiara Henry is averaging 10 points a game for Rogers (4-4) and Amber Turner is averaging six points a game while also being the assist leader. Maisy Louree, Imogen Walsh and Ashlyn Lang are also playing well, Rains said.

Southwest Girls

Southwest won a pair of games last week to stay in the hunt for a berth to the regional tournament.

The Lady Cougars (4-4) jumped out to a 23-11 halftime lead in a 40-22 win Thursday against Rogers Heritage. Khanni Shannon led Southwest with 21 points, while Aaliyah Neal added seven. The Lady Cougars take on Bentonville Gold tonight.