SPRINGDALE -- Just a year ago, a girls basketball game between Rogers Heritage and Springdale Har-Ber did not matter much in the 6A-West Conference.
That wasn't the case Friday night as the two teams came into Wildcat Arena battling for playoff seedings.
Har-Ber got a game-high 22 points from sophomore Caylan Koons and dominated the second half in a 54-37 win. The Lady Wildcats extended a narrow halftime lead by outscoring Heritage 34-19 in the second half.
"I feel like we've come a long way since last year," said second-year Har-Ber coach Kim Jenkins, whose team was 9-17 last season and just 2-12 in the 6A-West and did not make the postseason. "They are growing and getting better, but we're still so young. We just need to keep working and focusing on the next game."
Freshman Pacius McDaniel scored 12 points for Har-Ber (16-6, 6-3 6A-West), but picked up two fouls in the game's first 1:45 and played only sporadically until the final quarter, where she scored 9 of her 12 points.
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"She's a little greedy defensively sometimes and wants to take it," Jenkins said. "But her getting in foul trouble hurts us. It changes our lineup, so that hurts, but I thought we had some kids step up and make some plays and I thought our defense overall was pretty good, so I'm really proud of that."
Har-Ber found success with its press early, jumping to a 5-0 lead, then 13-4 by forcing Heritage turnovers in the backcourt. But the Lady War Eagles (13-10, 5-4) settled down and pulled within 18-14 in the second quarter when Maddie Lynge drove for a layup and drew a foul. Her free throw completed the three-point play.
McDaniel answered with a three-point play for Har-Ber with :49 left in the half to give the Lady Wildcats a 23-15 lead at halftime.
Scoring was sparse in the third quarter until Koons, who had 13 points at halftime, scored 7 points in the final 1:37 of the quarter, pushing Har-Ber's lead to 40-24 with a 3-pointer from the right corner at the buzzer.
"She has a tendency to go pretty quick once we find her," Jenkins said. "Then we kind of lose her again for a little while, so we've got to be more conscious of finding her consistently because she's a great scorer for us."
Rogers Heritage;9;6;9;10;--;34
Springdale Har-Ber;16;7;17;17;--;57
Heritage (13-10, 5-4): Knight 10, Jones 9, Lynge 5, Casteel 5, Perez 3, Pabon 2.
Har-Ber (16-6, 6-3): Koons 22, McDaniel 12, Nelson 10, McCrackin 6, Andrew 4, Stark 3.
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Fayetteville 59, Rogers High 26
The Lady Purple Bulldogs took control with a 25-0 first-half run and cruised to the 6A-West Conference win -- their fifth straight. Camiran Brockhoff hit a 3-pointer to give Rogers (14-9, 4-5) a 5-2 advantage less than two minutes into the game. But the Lady Mounties wouldn't score again until Taylor Treadwell's three-point play with 3:45 left in the first half.
The trio of Oregon State signee Sasha Goforth, Memphis signee Coriah Beck and Claudia Bridges combined for 27 of Fayetteville's 36 first-half points. The Lady Purple'Dogs were in charge, 36-10, at intermission.
Bridges led the way with 13 for the game, while Caroline Lyles added 11 and Beck 10 for Fayetteville 17-4, 8-1) Brockhoff led Rogers with 8.
Bentonville High 54, Van Buren 39
Bentonville used a 15-4 run in the second quarter to pull away from Van Buren as the Lady Tigers continued their unbeaten streak through 6A-West play.
Maryam Dauda had 19 points for Bentonville (20-1, 9-0), which used its big run to turn a 15-9 lead into a 30-13 margin. The Lady Tigers then led 41-23 after three quarters.
Jada Brown added 11 for Bentonville. Bailee Woodward led Van Buren (8-14, 2-7) with 12 points, followed by Lexi Miller with 11.
Preps Sports on 02/08/2020