ROGERS — Three days after the Rogers Heritage Lady War Eagles notched one of their biggest wins in program history against crosstown rival Rogers High, they struggled in almost every phase of the game in a 64-53 loss at Siloam Springs.
That Figures
2 — Losses for the Lady War Eagles in the 7A/6A-West Conference
0 — Wins by the War Eagles in the conference
5 — Conference wins this season by the Lady War Eagles and 3-pointers made by Crist Olsen against Siloam Springs on Friday
The end result is Heritage (15-5, 5-2 7A/6A-West) will end the first half of 7A/6A-West Conference girls basketball play tied with Rogers for second, rather than sharing the league lead with Bentonville.
“We knew when we won the other night we would have to go on the road and play well,” Heritage girls coach Kevin Ramey said. “And we just didn’t do that. In the grand scheme of things we’re still 5-2 and we just have to fight our way through it.”
On the boys’ side, Heritage suffered through another drought, which spelled doom against the Mounties on Tuesday. The War Eagles had no answer for 6-foot-8 Payton Henson in a loss to Siloam Springs on Friday.
That leaves the War Eagles (9-10, 0-7) in the midst of a seven-game losing streak and still looking for their first league victory.
PLAY OF THE WEEK: Heritage’s Ellen Lundy poked the ball away from a Rogers High player near the sideline and drew a foul with less than three minutes left in Tuesday’s game at War Eagle Arena.
Lundy’s big defensive play allowed the Lady War Eagles to spread the floor with a four-point lead and pull away for their first-ever win against their rivals.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Ashley Ward tied for scoring honors with 15 points and was strong on the boards to key Heritage’s win over the Lady Mounties. She also had 11 in the loss at Siloam Springs, despite being limited by foul trouble.
Junior Crist Olsen hit five 3-pointers and scored a team-high 17 points in Heritage’s loss at Siloam Springs.
NOTABLE: Friday’s loss at Siloam Springs was only the third time this season the Lady War Eagles have given up 60 or more points in a game. ... The Lady War Eagles’ five conference wins surpasses their total of the last four years combined.
THE LINGO: “We have to find a way to make perimeter shots. They went in first semester. Obviously teams in our conference are better defensively than the teams we played in the first semester. I’m at a loss right now at how to get those shots to go in. I think a lot of it right now is between our ears. We’re struggling.”
Tom Olsen
Rogers Heritage boys coach
UP NEXT: All 7A/6A-West teams have Tuesday off since there was a date built-in for possible make-up games because of winter weather. But Heritage opens the second round by hosting Fayetteville on Feb. 1. It will be a pivotal game for the Lady War Eagles since they managed a tough overtime 50-48 overtime win at Fayetteville back on Jan. 4.
Their male counterparts will try to get their first league win, but it will be a tough task against the conference-leading Purple Bulldogs.