Heber Springs’ Jaylea Hooten drives for a lay-up against Clarksville’s Macy Weathers. Hooten was fouled on the play. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
HEBER SPRINGS – Clarksville hit a pair of 3-pointers late in the first quarter and didn’t look back in downing Heber Springs, 47-30, in 4-4A senior girls play.
A Jaylea Hooten free throw for Heber Springs made it a one-point game at 5-4 in favor of Clarksville with 2:11 left in the opening quarter, but Clarksville’s Macy Weathers hit 3-pointers with 1:08 left and at the first-quarter buzzer to make it an 11-4 contest.
Heber Springs (10-13 overall, 0-9 in 4-4A) cut the deficit to under 10 points twice in the second quarter. An Emily Fuller 3-pointer at the 5:59 mark made it 14-7 and a Hooten three-point play with 1:01 left in the half cut the Clarksville (8-13, 5-4) lead to 9 at 21-12. But the visiting Panthers, again hit a pair of 3-pointers to close out the quarter with a 27-12 halftime lead.
Fuller paced Heber Springs with 8 points while Clarksville’s Kenleigh Rieder led all scorers with 14 points. The visiting Panthers led 38-19 at the end of three quarters.
Heber Springs travels to Pottsville Tuesday for its regular-season finale.
Heber Springs provided the right responses against Clarksville during the final minute of Tuesday’s 4-4A Conference basketball game at the Panther Den.
Senior Ellie Riddle scored on a length of the court drive to regain the lead and Jaylea Hooten blocked an attempted 3-pointer by Clarksville’s Shelby Ross as the Lady Panthers celebrated senior night with a 59-55 win.
Ross, who made four 3-pointers during the fourth quarter, connected from behind the circle left wing and gave Clarksville a 55-54 lead with 1:45 left in the game.
Riddle intercepted a pass at the top of the free-throw line, dribbled the length of the court and made a lay-up with 1:05 to play.
Sophie Stone retrieved Hooten’s blocked shot, drew a foul and made two free throws for a 58-55 lead with 39 seconds remaining.
Clarksville called timeout with 13.9 seconds. Ross attempted a 3-pointer, but Hooten jumped and blocked the shot. Kylie Carr retrieved the ball and drew a foul. Carr hit 1-of-2 free throws with nine seconds to go.
“Clarksville got hot at the end of the game and made shots,” Heber Springs coach Jamey Riddle said. “We responded every time. We would not have did that two weeks ago. This team is continuing to grow and improve.”
Ellie Riddle led all scorers by scoring 18 points for the Lady Panthers. Sophie Stone, who made two 3-pointers, contributed 16 points. Hailey Bresnahan had 11 points, and Hooten contributed 10 points.
“We fell behind by one point late in the game, but Ellie was able to score quickly to get it back,” Jamey Riddle said. “Sophie made big free throws down the stretch. Our defensive intensity was good. We have been waiting on Hailey to get going, and she did in the second half. It was good to see her play well. Sophie, Ellie and Jaylea also played well.”
Autumn Miller scored 15 points for Clarksville. Ross finished with 14 points, while Marcy Domerese, who made four 3-pointers, had 12 points. Abby Domerese added 11 points.
Heber Springs held the lead early during the first quarter. Clarksville gained the advantage by the midway point of the quarter, but it could never pull away. The Lady Panthers trailed 17-13 going into the second quarter.
A 10-0 scoring run ignited Heber Springs to a 23-17 lead. Clarksville controlled the next few minutes and tied the game twice at 25-25 and 27-27.
Riddle scored on a short jumper and Stone’s two free throws gave the Lady Panthers a 31-27 lead at halftime.
Heber Springs maintained control throughout the third quarter by outscoring Clarksville 14-7. The Lady Panthers built the lead to 45-34 going into the fourth quarter.
Riddle said the win came at the right time. Heber Springs moved into position to challenge for a spot among the conference leaders. The Lady Panthers (2-2 in conference, 8-8 overall) will finish the first half of the conference schedule at Pottsville on Friday.
“We hope this win helps us to build momentum for the Pottsville game,” he said. “That is the next step to climb in the standings. We are looking for continued improvement. It will be a big game, and we hope to play well again. Friday’s game will be just as important as this game.”
Heber Springs’ Ellie Riddle gets past Dover’s Avery Reichert in action Friday night at the Panther Den. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
January 24, 2020
By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
The Heber Springs Lady Panthers benefited from adjusting adjusted their perimeter defense against Dover at the Panther Den Friday.
The Lady Panthers (4-3 in 4-4A Conference, 13-7 overall) limited Dover to five 3-pointers and completed a season sweep with a 59-53 victory.
Dover (3-4 in conference, 12-8 overall) made 11 3-pointers earlier this season against Heber Springs.
The win kept the Lady Panthers in a third-place tie with Pottsville and moved one game ahead of Dover in the conference standings. In case a tiebreaker is necessary for seeding at the conference tournament, the Lady Panthers will hold the advantage over Dover.
“The threes kept them in the game at Dover,” Heber Springs coach Jamey Riddle said. “We changed our defense by always having a player defending on the wing. We played mostly man-to-man in the second half to keep them from getting that big scoring run.”
Riddle said the players executed the defensive plan.
“We got lost on some of the threes Dover made because of transition” he said. “Dover found the open gaps. We played well, made free throws down the stretch and got rebounds.”
The Lady Panthers broke out of a recent offensive slump, led by Ellie Riddle, Libby Stutts and Jillian Herring, who scored 44 of the team’s 59 points.
Riddle led the offense with 18 points. Stutts scored 15 points and Herring had 11 points.
Avery Reichert scored 11 points for Dover, while Audrey Reichert finished with 10 points.
“We had one period of the game when we had shots and they would not fall,” Riddle said. “When Dover switched to a man defense, we took advantage of it with field goals in transition or by driving to the basket and drawing a foul.”
Stutts made a 3-pointer midway through the first quarter to break a 6-6 tie. Heber Springs never trailed again. Dover stayed close and pulled within one point twice and led 14-13 going into the second quarter.
Heber Springs increased its lead to eight points, but it never reached double digits. The Lady Panthers withstood Dover’s challenges and had a 34-25 halftime lead.
The Lady Panthers retained the momentum during the third quarter, but Dover didn’t make it easy. The Lady Pirates reduced Heber Springs’ lead to 44-39 going into the fourth quarter.
Dover trailed 46-44 early in the fourth quarter, but it never pulled closer.
“Ellie made shots in transition during the first half,” coach Riddle said. “Jillian and Libby did good jobs driving against Dover for shots in the second half. You need that in close games.”
Heber Springs hopes for a duplicate performance at Pottsville starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
“Every game will be big for the remainder of the season,” Riddle said. “Our focus will be on Pottsville. We should have defeated them earlier at home. We need to play with the same mentality as we did against Dover. We need another win.”
CLARKSVILLE – Clarksville took home first-place honors in a three-team match at the Clarksville Country Club.
Boys Team Scoring: Clarskville (130), Russellville (143) and Pottsville (154).
Clarskville boys results: Braden Payne (41) (Medalist honors); Cole Clark (43) (Second overall); Braxton Payne (46) (Fourth overall); John Foster Case (50); and Isaac Chappell (56).
Girls Team Scoring: Clarksville (142), Russellville (151) while Pottsville did not have a team score.
Clarksville Girls Results: Parker Banning (46) (Tied for medalist honors); Morgan Douglas (47) (3rd); Abby Domerese (49) (5th); Emily Qualls (53) (6th).
Source: Clarksville High School Golf Facebook Page
Clarksville split a pair of high school golf matches with Russellville at the Russellville Country Club.
Clarksville defeated Russellville, 130-141, in senior boys play, while Russellville won the senior girls match.
Braden Payne and Cole Clark tied for medalist honors by shooting 42. Braxton Payne shot a 46 while John Foster Case and Isaac Chappell each shot at 51.
For the Panther girls, Abby Domerese shot a 54, Emily Qualls a 65, Parker Banning a 57 and Morgan Douglas a 61.
Source: Clarksville High School Golf Facebook Page
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