FORT SMITH -- This time, they couldn't finish.
Springdale Har-Ber blew a 17-point lead and lost 66-57 in overtime to Fort Smith Southside Friday at the Southside gym. The comeback victory was much-needed for Southside (10-14, 4-7), which is scrambling for one of the final playoff spots in the 7A-West. Shaniah Bishop scored 20 points for Southside, which held Har-Ber to without a field goal in overtime.
7A-WEST
Springdale Har-Ber 66, Southside 57 (0T)
Har-Ber^12^19^11^12^3—^57
Southside^11^6^^18^19^12—^66
Har-Ber (18-8, 7-5): Hornor 10, Higgins 10, Redmond 9, Schalk 8, Bohannan 6, Collins 6, Whaley 5, Chancellor 3
Southside (10-14, 4-7): Bishop 20, O’Dell 17, Stone 10, Hamilton 8, Meares 6, Hittner 5
Boys
Springdale Har-Ber 55, Fort Smith Southside 48
Har-Ber^16^12^13^14—^55
Southside^13^11^12^12^—^48
Southside (7-17, 1-10): Foree 23, Hawley 12, Keller 6, Mays 3, Perito 3, Rivaldo 1
Har-Ber (17-7, 8-4): Cline 21, Eckwood 9, McNee 8, Benson 8, Benford 4, Brandon 3, Knight 2
"We're trying to get into the state tournament, so we had to win," Southside coach Sherry White said. "We won this game with heart and guts and our defense picked up."
Har-Ber (18-8, 7-5) suffered another tough defeat after falling behind and losing consecutive games at home to Bentonville and Fayetteville. The challenge doesn't get any easier for the Lady Wildcats, who return home Tuesday to face Fort Smith Northside on Senior Night.
"We missed shots and started turning the ball over," Har-Ber coach Sandy Wright said. "We can't make excuses. We just folded the tent."
Har-Ber still had a chance to win over in regulation, but Jacie Higgins missed a short jumper and Bailey Schalk failed on a shot off a rebound. Southside then took over by outscoring Har-Ber 12-3 in overtime. Har-Ber's only points in the extra session came on three free throws.
Har-Ber doubled Southside early in the third quarter when Bailey Schalk scored to put the Lady Wildcats ahead 34-17. But Bishop led a second-half surge with a combination of outside shots and drives to the basket. She made two 3-pointers before Whitney O'Dell tied the game 52-52 with 2 minutes, 25 seconds left in the game.
"We wanted to put Shaniah in position where she could either drive or kick it out to our 3-point shooters on the wing," White said. "That worked, then they left Shaniah open and she hit the threes."
In ovetime, Bishop passed to Allison Stone for a basket and O'Dell followed with a layup to give Southside a 59-54 lead. Bishop then finished Har-Ber off by making four consecutive free throws in the final seconds.
O'Dell added 17 points for Southside while Caroline Hornor and Higgins each finished with 10 points to lead Har-Ber.
Boys
Har-Ber 55, Southside 48
Mason Cline scored 21 points to carry Har-Ber to a road win at the Southside gym.
Cline recovered from a tough shooting night against Fayetteville when he finished with five points. His 3-pointer in the second quarter gave Har-Ber (17-7, 8-4) a 27-17 lead with 2 minutes, 30 seconds left before halftime. But Southside closed to within 28-24 at halftime following a 3-pointer by Alex Perito.
Tereke Eckwood finished with nine points. He made his last three free throws and added a steal late in the fourth quarter to help secure the victory.
Alex Foree finished with 23 points to lead Southside (7-17, 1-10).
Sports on 02/21/2015