Siloam Springs' Panther Activity Center will serve as host to the 7A West junior high regional tournament to close out February and welcome March Madness.
Eight teams -- four boys and four girls -- will represent the Northwest Arkansas Conference, against eight teams from the River Valley Conference starting Tuesday.
7A-6A Junior High Regional Tournament
At Siloam Springs
Girls
Tuesday
No. 1 Southwest vs. No. 4 Darby, 4 p.m.
No. 1 Van Buren vs. No. 4 Central, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday
No. 2 Alma vs. No. 3 Rogers High, 4 p.m.
No. 2 Woodland vs. No. 3 Kimmons, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 5, 4 p.m.
Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 7, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 1 p.m.
Boys
Tuesday
No. 1 Woodland vs. No. 4 Alma, 5:15 pm.
No. 1 Kimmons vs. No. 4 Southwest, 7:45 p.m.
Wednesday
No. 2 Van Buren vs. No. 3 Ramay, 5:15 p.m.
No. 2 Gold vs. No. 3 Darby, 7:45 p.m.
Thursday
Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 6, 5:15 p.m.
Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 8, 7:45 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 2:30 p.m.
Northwest Arkansas Conference
Final Standings
Boys
School^Overall W-L^Conf W-L
x-Fayetteville Woodland^17-5^9-1
x-Bentonville Gold^12-8^8-2
x-Fayetteville Ramay^14-6^7-3
x-Springdale Southwest^14-6^6-4
Bentonville Black^14-9^6-4
Springdale Lakeside^10-9^6-4
Rogers High^11-10^4-6
Springdale Central^10-12^4-6
Siloam Springs^8-13^2-7
Springdale George^4-15^2-8
Rogers Heritage^2-20^0-9
x-advanced to regional tournament
Today’s Games
Siloam Springs at Rogers Heritage
Girls
School^Overall W-L^Conf W-L
x-Springdale Southwest^16-4^10-0
x-Fayetteville Woodland^20-1^9-1
x-Rogers High^17-7^8-2
x-Springdale Central^13-8^6-4
Fayetteville Ramay^14-6^6-4
Bentonville Gold^13-6^5-5
Bentonville Black^9-13^5-5
Springdale George^6-11^3-7
Rogers Heritage^5-14^1-8
Siloam Springs^4-18^1-8
Springdale Lakeside^0-19^0-10
x-advanced to regional tournament
Today’s Games
Rogers Heritage at Siloam Springs
On the boys side, Fayetteville Woodland won the NWA conference outright and secured the No. 1 seed, with Bentonville Gold finishing runner-up to the Cowboys.
"This is the best season for Gold basketball since we moved to the high school," Gold coach John Mackey said. "Our players have really developed throughout the season. We have battled each other in practice every day and that has made us better not only individually, but much better as a team."
Gold's first round matchup is Fort Smith Darby at 7:45 on Wednesday.
"We know this week will be a great week of basketball and we are definitely working to try to extend our season as long as possible," Mackey said. "It has been a great roller coaster ride, and we survived the ups and downs and twists and turns. We are not ready for the ride to be over."
Fayetteville Ramay is third, and Springdale Southwest got in as the fourth seed by virtue of defeating Springdale Lakeside on the final night of the regular season.
"The regional tournament is as strong across the board as it has been in several years," Ramay coach Jordan Rose said. "Whoever wins the tournament will have to string together three really strong performances."
Ramay drew Van Buren in the first round at 5:15 on Wednesday, and a win may set up a third meeting with Woodland, a team the Indians beat twice in the regular season.
"For us, it will come down to being smart with the basketball and competing on the boards," Rose said.
Springdale Southwest earned its first conference title in 24 years on the girls side, thanks to a win in the last week of the regular season over league favorite Woodland, which had already beaten the Lady Cougars twice earlier in the year.
Woodland is the second seed, with Rogers High behind it in third and Springdale Central in the fourth slot, sliding past defending regional champion Ramay down the stretch.
"The Ramay win was great," Central girls coach Sheila Neal said. "We knew we had to win our last three games in order to make regionals. Our kids played great."
A showdown with the River Valley Conference champion, Van Buren, is in store for the Lady Warriors tomorrow night at 6:30.
"Van Buren has an eighth grader that is very good," Neal said. "She will be tough to guard, but we should match up with them as a whole."
Rogers High was only a game behind Woodland for second in the conference, and head coach Jamie Rains believes her team is playing its best basketball going into the tournament.
"One of our goals this season was to make it and to be playing our best going into that week, and I think we are doing that," Rains said. "Our team defense has continued to improve all season. We trust one another to be on the help side. Offensively, we are all a threat to score. We've developed a lot of confidence in our shooting.
Elise Randells is leading the Lady Mounties in scoring, blocked shots and steals, while Madison Sherrill has been a constant scoring threat as well as leading the team in rebounds.
Maddi McKinney has been a consistent 3-point threat as well as a great ball handler, according to Rains, and Madison Sandor has been effective inside and out. Mykael Williams has been a hustling playmaker all year and gives the team a spark when needed.
"We play Alma on Wednesday, and they have great shooters and a lot of quickness," Rains said. "We will have to play great defense."
Sports on 02/24/2014