Basketball: Rogers starts early, hammers Har-Ber

NWA Democrat-Gazette/MICHAEL WOODS @NWAMICHAELW Rogers High's Madison Sandor (25) and Juliza Brown of Springdale Har-Ber battle for a rebound Friday in Springdale
NWA Democrat-Gazette/MICHAEL WOODS @NWAMICHAELW Rogers High's Madison Sandor (25) and Juliza Brown of Springdale Har-Ber battle for a rebound Friday in Springdale

SPRINGDALE -- Preston Early could not have asked more from his team defensively Friday night against Springdale Har-Ber.

Rogers High shut out Har-Ber in the fourth quarter and did not allow a Lady Wildcat to score more than six points in a 40-25 rout in Wildcat Arena in 7A-West girls basketball.

Girls

Rogers^15^5^12^8^—^40

Har-Ber^6^6^13^0^—^25

Rogers (13-8, 5-3): Richmond 13, Randels 12, Loyd 5, Sandor 3, Widsom 2.

Har-Ber (12-9, 3-5): Whaley 6, Juliza Brown 5, Smith 4, Juella Brown 4, Terry 4, Shannon 2.

Boys

Rogers^7^13^11^15^—^46

Har-Ber^15^16^22^13^—^66

Rogers (7-14, 0-8): Roberson 13, Benninghoff 11, G. Dake 5, Uecker 4, T. Dake 3, Early 2, Voigt 2, Whitten 2, Casey 2, Gilmer 2.

Har-Ber (16-6, 7-1): T. Garrett 18, Perry 16, King 11, Taylor 10, Williams 5, Kaunitz 3, A. Garrett 2, Sanders 1

Junior Varsity: Har-Ber 61, Rogers 55

Rogers (13-8, 5-3 7A-West) jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the first quarter and never looked back in earning a road win coming off a 10-point home loss last week to Springdale High.

"I thought we set a great tone with our defense," Early said. "We were very hard to score on tonight. One of the truisms of basketball is your defense travels, so I thought our girls did a great job of bringing that with them."

The Lady Mounties brought their offense, too, and put on a clinic of fundamental basketball by executing a seemingly endless number of backdoor layups. Both Kelsey Richmond (13 points) and Elise Randels (12 points) took advantage of the open lane, especially in the early going.

Randels scored eight points in the first quarter -- all on layups -- and helped Rogers to a 15-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

"This is a great passing team and I thought we did a great job of countering their pressure with ball movement and some sharp cutting," Early said. "I just really loved our focus tonight."

Har-Ber (12-9, 3-5) rebounded from the early deficit in the second quarter behind the play of Dachelle Terry, and the interior defense of Juella Brown and Juliza Brown to pull within 17-12.

The Lady Wildcats got within seven points twice in the third quarter, the last 26-19 on a pair of free throws by Karrington Whaley. But that was as close as it would get as Rogers had an answer every time Har-Ber threatened.

The Lady Mounties held Har-Ber scoreless in the fourth and milked the clock down to earn the win.

"Basketball is a funny game, and the thing you have to do is stay positive," Early said. "It's got to be about positive thoughts, it's about putting the past in the past and just playing what's next. We had a good week of practice, and I think our players know who that are and what we're capable of."

Boys

Springdale Har-Ber 66, Rogers High 46

The Wildcats maintained their share of the 7A-West Conference lead with a 20-point win as four player scored in double-figures.

Junior Tyler Garrett led Har-Ber (16-6, 7-1) with a game-high 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Tylor Perry added 16, Zane King 11 and Ryan Taylor 10.

Sophomore R.J. Roberson led the Mounties (7-14, 0-8) with 12, and Jake Benninghoff added 11.

Sports on 02/04/2017

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