VAN BUREN — After suffering a stinging first 7A/6A-West loss last Friday, Rogers Heritage took out its frustration on Van Buren, jumping out to a 26-point first half lead en route to a 51-24 mercy-rule win Tuesday at Clair Bates Arena.
After falling behind 19-1 after a quarter in a home loss to Bentonville, the Lady War Eagles (13-4, 3-17A/6A-West) turned the tables on the Lady Pointers (4-9, 0-4) by leading 17-2 after the first period.
“We didn’t start that game well and it left a bitter taste in our mouths,” Heritage coach Kevin Ramey said. “We stressed to our kids the importance of getting off to a good start. We wanted to set the tempo at a quick pace.”
It did not get any better for Van Buren as Heritage built a 32-6 cushion with two minutes left before half. To that point, the Lady War Eagles forced 13 turnovers thanks to full-court pressure that overwhelmed the Lady Pointers guards.
When Heritage backed off the press in the final two minutes of the half, Van Buren scored eight unanswered to get to within 32-14.
Rogers Heritage 51, Van Buren 24
Heritage 17 15 19 0 — 51
Van Buren 2 12 7 3 — 24
Heritage (13-4, 3-1): A. Ward 15, Lundy 12, B. Ward 9, Miller 7, Britton 4, Jobst 3, Geisen 1.
Van Buren (4-9, 0-4): Sheppard 13, Santillana 6, Burgos 4, Smith 1.
The Lady War Eagles, though, opened the second half with a 12-2 run to build the lead back up to 44-16 at the midway point of the third period. For the game, Heritage forced 23 Lady Pointer turnovers.
“Give Van Buren credit for finishing the half strong,” Ramey said. “In the locker room, we talked about starting the second half strong and we came out aggressive. We were able to convert turnovers into baskets and we have struggled with that at times.”
The score was 51-21 after three quarters and the clock ran uninterrupted in the final quarter as the Lady War Eagles invoked the running clock.
The win was also special for Ramey and the Lady War Eagle program as it was the first win in four tries against the Lady Pointers. It was Heritage that forced Van Buren out of the 7A-West and into the 7A-Central four years ago.
Ashley Ward scores a game-high 15 to lead Heritage while Ellen Lundy added 12.
Kaylee Sheppard, a sophomore guard, swished three 3-pointers in pacing Van Buren in scoring with 13. The War Eagles limited 6-1 post Maria Santillana to just six points.