BENTONVILLE -- Offensive spurts of six or even nine unanswered points usually aren't considered determining factors in a typical high school basketball game.
Springdale Har-Ber's girls couldn't have found a better time to put them together Friday night. The Lady Wildcats put them together in the second half, then held on to claim a 51-50 7A-West Conference victory over Bentonville in Tiger Arena.
How They Scored
Springdale Har-Ber 51, Bentonville 50
Har-Ber^13^8^17^13^—^51
Bentonville^13^11^11^15^—^50
Har-Ber (15-3, 3-0): Chancellor 12, Bohannon 10, Hornor 10, Schalk 8, Redmond 5, Higgins 4, Whaley 2.
Bentonville (10-6, 1-2): Taylor 16, Martin 12, Johnston 10, Brittain 8, Hargus 2, Clark 2.
Har-Ber (15-3, 3-0) scored six straight points to take the lead for good, with Bailey Schalk's bucket making the score 36-32 with 1 minute remaining in the third quarter. After Jordan Martin's 3-pointer made it a one-point game, Jacie Higgins ended the third quarter with a layup, then the Lady Wildcats scored seven straight to start the fourth quarter for a 44-35 cushion with 5:14 left.
"One thing we preach and preach to our kids is to value each possession," Har-Ber coach Sandy Wright said. "In our league, every possession matters, so we want to take good shot selections and take care of the ball. Just a forced shot or a turnover here or there can cost you."
Bentonville (10-6, 1-2) kept things interesting as it slowly chipped away at Har-Ber's lead. Lauren Hargus' layup with 1:30 remaining made it a 47-44 game, then the Lady Tigers had chances to make it closer in the final minute.
Har-Ber then used free throws by Higgins and Paige Redmond in the final 12 seconds to secure the win, with Redmond's pair coming with 5.1 seconds remaining. Bentonville's Peyton Taylor then hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to close out the scoring.
"In the first half, we played really well," Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said. "In the second half, we played hard and got after it. We just had too many constant turnovers that turned into high-percentage shots.
"We turned the ball over, and Har-Ber gets a layup. That just kills you. We can't give up points like that."
Neither team strung together more than six points through the first half and much of the third quarter. As a result, there were 11 lead changes, and the score was tied on 10 occasions through the first 2 1/2 quarters.
Anna Chancellor had 12 points to lead Har-Ber, while Carlye Bohannon and Caroline Hornor each added 10. Martin led Bentonville with 16 points, followed by Taylor with 12 and Maren Johnston 10.
Henry Apple can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @NWAHenry.
Sports on 01/17/2015