ROGERS — Rogers High junior Tasha Repella had made some spot starts for the Lady Mounties this season, but she had no idea she was going to start in the team's biggest game of the year last week.

Facing a must-win Feb. 25 against Rogers Heritage to advance to the Class 7A State Tournament in Conway, Lady Mounties coach Preston Early told Repella to be ready to help off the bench. The only time Repella saw the bench was during timeouts as she played all 32 minutes in a 48-30 victory that secured the team's ninth-straight state tournament appearance.

"I sprung the starting lineup on them at the last minute," Early said. "Tasha probably could have played another 32 minutes."

Repella will likely be in the starting lineup Thursday when the Lady Mounties face Conway at 7 p.m. in a first-round game. Repella, who logged 47 of her 159 minutes played this season last week, said the past few games have prepared her for the state tournament.

"When I start, it is a rush, but I have tried to stay calm," she said. "I feel a lot more confident in my game."

Repella finished with eight points and she hit a 3-pointer and layup on consecutive possessions in the third period as Rogers pulled away from Heritage. But her biggest role in the win was helping defend Heritage guard Emilie Jobst. In Heritage's 47-45 win over Rogers back in January, Jobst finished with 23 points, including 18 in the first half, but had just seven last week.

"Playing against Emilie was really tough," Repella said. "I had to keep my guard up. On offense, I feel pretty comfortable with my shooting, and I knew we had to keep the lead there against Heritage."

Early was hopeful Repella would be a main contributor this season and said the junior has made huge strides the past several weeks. Rogers will take a three-game winning streak into the game against Conway.

"The last three or four games, she was simulating the other team's best player," Early said. "We couldn't guard her, and me and coach (Blu) Green were talking after practice about how productive she was. We said we are going to put her out there and just go with it. She just took it and ran with it. She knows now that she is good enough."

Repella is one of the best conditioned Lady Mounties players and Early said he has no worries about her playing an entire game.

"Tasha is an absolute beast in strength and conditioning workouts," Early said. "She is so impressive. Our kids call her G.I. Jane the way she does push ups and pull ups. You start to notice the athleticism and work ethic. It has taken her time for her to get her game together, where she is calm under pressure and can use her God-given talent.

"She doesn't get down, and that is a characteristic of winners. That is a characteristic of next-level kids."

Repella said she takes her conditioning workouts seriously.

"When we do push ups and stuff, I am one of the few that stay up all the time," Repella said. "I like working out and everything comes pretty naturally to me."

Repella is just one of several juniors who see extensive playing time, and Early said that will be a plus next year.

"Tasha is one of the top two or three attitude kids that I have had," Early said. "She is a person that takes advantage of her opportunities. Day-in and day-out, she could be the point guard on the jayvee, she could be the point guard on the varsity. She could have played zero minutes the game before, and 32 minutes the next. Regardless, you are going to get the best version of her."

Sports on 03/05/2014