ROGERS -- Jacie Higgins led a balanced scoring attack with 12 points, and Springdale Har-Ber used a 12-1 run to close the game for a 52-41 win against Rogers High on Friday during 7A-West Conference girls basketball in King Arena.
Higgins and sophomore Khanni Shannon both sat out most of the third quarter after picking up three first-half fouls. But Higgins scored 8 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter to help Har-Ber pull away late.
Girls
Springdale Har-Ber^10^13^15^14^—^52
Rogers High^17^7^9^8^—^41
Springdale Har-Ber (14-8, 4-4): Higgins 12, Smith 8, Collins 8, Whaley 7, Mains 6, Hornor 6, Juliza Brown 4, Shannon 1.
Rogers High (9-12, 2-6): Sandor 19, Randels 10, Richmond 6, Wisdom 3, McKinney 3.
Boys
Springdale Har-Ber^6^13^15^22^—^56
Rogers High^11^19^15^13^—^58
Springdale Har-Ber (11-10, 4-4): Garrett 14, Brandon 12, Perry 9, Benson 5, Eckwood 4, Kaunitz 3, Taylor 3, Hampton 3.
Rogers High 8-13, 2-6): Freeland 17, Benninghoff 12, Cooper 11, Allen 8, Young 5, Mincks 2, Haffley 2, Smith 1.
Har-Ber coach Sandy Wright said she used the halftime break, where the Lady Wildcats (14-8, 4-4 7A-West) trailed 24-23, to motivate her team.
"We had to have us a little talk at half about this is not what we came here to do," Wright said. "We were 3-4 coming into this, and I know Rogers is in the same boat with their backs against the wall, too, but every game counts right now.
"And we needed to get back to .500 to start second half."
Rogers (9-12, 2-6) seized control early as junior Madison Sandor dominated the first eight minutes of the game. Sandor scored 13 of Rogers' 17 first-quarter points, including a trio of 3-pointers as the Lady Mounties opened a 17-10 lead. Rogers would not score in double-figures in any of the remaining three quarters.
Har-Ber slowly chipped away at its deficit, using a 9-2 run to finally pull even at 21-21 on Maei Mains' 3-pointer from the left perimeter with 50 seconds left in the first half.
Rogers answered back, forcing a turnover that led to a layup at the other end from Sandor, who also drew a foul from Higgins on the play, her third, with 20.3 seconds left. Sandor's free throw completed the three-point play, and Rogers led at the break 24-23.
Har-Ber switched from a man-to-man defense to a zone in the second half, and the move paid off as Sandor managed just one bucket over the final 16 minutes.
"We wanted to change the tempo," Wright said. "When things aren't working you've got to do something different."
With Higgins on the bench, the Lady Wildcats found scoring in other ways, and none were bigger than the back-to-back 3-pointers from Krislyn Smith that turned a 26-23 deficit into a 29-26 Har-Ber lead.
"She's not really known as a shooter, and she hit a couple that were big for them," Rogers coach Preston Early said. "When you have two good teams playing, you just need something to separate you, and that is kind of what did it for them."
Wright agreed.
"Just huge shots there by Kris," Wright said. "Matter of fact, I said that on the bench."
Har-Ber ran off a 10-0 spurt and looked to be in control with a 33-26 lead, but the Lady Mounties battled back behind Elise Randels, who scored eight of her 10 points in the second half. Her steal and layup with 5:15 left tied the game at 40-40.
But Randels fouled out less than a minute later, and Rogers did not score another point until 15 seconds were left in the game. Har-Ber's 12-0 run, fueled by Higgins, closed out the game.
Boys
Rogers High 58, Springdale Har-Ber 56
The Mounties saw a double-digit lead almost completely evaporate before hanging on at the end for their second 7A-West win.
Rogers (8-13, 2-6) led by 12 points late in the third quarter but had to withstand a furious fourth quarter rally by Har-Ber (11-10, 4-4).
Malicio Freeland was clutch for the Mounties down the stretch, hitting 4-of-6 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to help the Mounties nail down the win. The Mounties made just one field goal in the fourth quarter, but hit 11 free throws. Freeland led all scorers with 17 points.
Har-Ber freshman Tylor Perry helped ignite the Wildcats' fourth quarter surge and scored 7 of his 9 points in the quarter.
Tyler Garrett led Har-Ber with 14 points and senior JP Brandon, who will have season-ending shoulder surgery and miss the state tournament, finished with 12, scoring 8 in the fourth quarter on several nice moves in the lane. Perry finished with 9 points.
Har-Ber will return to action at home Monday against crosstown rival Springdale High. Rogers will take on rival Rogers Heritage on Tuesday at War Eagle Arena.
Sports on 02/06/2016