Tag: Jamey Riddle

Pyrrhic victory for Lady Panthers in home finale

Heber Springs’ Claudia Newberry goes up for a shot against at Clarksville defender in action that Panther Den. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

February 14, 2020

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

The Heber Springs Lady Panthers walked off the court feeling like they lost, despite a 36-30 win against Clarksville in the regular season basketball finale Friday.

Heber Springs (8-4 in 4-4A, 16-8 overall) and Clarksville (8-4 in conference, 12-14 overall) finished in a tie for second place.

Clarksville earned the No. 2 seed for the conference tournament on a tiebreaker.

Jillian Herring made a free throw, giving Heber Springs a 36-28 lead and the points to earn the No. 2 seed with six seconds left in the game, but Clarksville’s Autumn Miller drove the length of the floor and scored with point sixths of a second left.

“We were trying to get back on defense to defend the final shot,” Heber Springs coach Jamey Riddle said. “She (Miller) got loose and we didn’t get in front of her.”

Heber Springs will play the Ozark-Dardanelle winner at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the quarterfinals at Dardanelle. Wednesday’s winner will a regional tournament berth.

“The girls felt that way, but they need to not do that,” said Riddle about falling short of the No. 2 seed. “A win is a win anytime. I’m proud how they fought and beat a good team. We are looking forward to the tournament.”

Herring led the Lady Panthers with 17 points. Claudia Newberry had 11 points. Miller scored 12 points for Clarksville.

“Our shots were not falling in the first half,” Riddle said. “We started to make shots in the second half. Jillian got good shots by driving to the basket. We rebounded and held them to 30 points, which is playing good defense.”

Each team led once by three points during the first quarter. Newberry scored eight points, but Clarksville stayed close and pulled to within 10-9 by the end of the opening quarter.

Ellie Riddle scored to start the second quarter, but Clarksville reclaimed the lead with five consecutive points.

Herring’s 3-pointer gave Heber Springs a 15-14 lead. Clarksville converted a three-point play and led 17-15 at halftime.

Clarksville led 19-15 early in the third quarter. The Lady responded with an 11-1 scoring run and built a 26-20 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Heber Springs maintained a five-to-seven lead throughout the fourth quarter.

“It is not the end of the season and we are still playing basketball,” Riddle said. “We beat both teams (Ozark and Dardanelle) during the regular season. It’s difficult sometimes to be a team for the third time. Regardless which team we play, we will come out and play hard.”

FEBRUARY 14 BOXSCORE 
Clarksville    9 8  5  8 - 30
Heber Springs 10 5 11 10 - 36
CLARKSVILLE SCORING (30): Autumn Miller 12, Emmaline Rieder 8, Morgan Douglas 5, Rebekah Guess 3, Parker Banning 2.
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (36): Jillian Herring 17, Claudia Newberry 11, Ashley Spanel 3, Ellie Riddle 3, Mary Shearer 2. 

FEBRUARY 11 BOXSCORE
at Morrilton
Heber Springs  22  8   9   6 - 45
Morrilton      11 10  13  16 - 50
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (45): Libby Stutts 18, Claudia Newberry 16, Jillian Herring 6, Ellie Riddle 5 
MORRILTON SCORING (50): Cheyanne Kemp 17, Kennedy Reel 14, Ali Jo Dunlap 10, Grace Brown 4, A'mya Everette 3

Lady Panthers head to Morrilton, face Clarksville for regional spot Friday

February 11, 2020

The Heber Springs Lady Panthers head into the final week of the regular season riding high on a four-game winning streak, including three straight on the road.

Heber Springs will put its season-tying best win streak on the line when it travels to Morrilton (17-5, 10-1 in the 4A-4) tonight. It will be the final regular season road contest for the Lady Panthers as they look to avenge a 20-point setback last month at the Panther Den.

“We didn’t play well against Morrilton the last time when they were here,” Heber Springs coach Jamey Riddle said. “I think the girls have responded well … they know we didn’t play very good.”

Morrilton clinched the outright conference title Friday night with a 47-30 victory against Clarksville, but there is still plenty for Heber Springs to play for, but that will come on Friday — Senior Night for the Panthers and Lady Panthers.

Against the Devil Dogs, Heber Springs can get a measure of revenge and win a season-best fifth game in-a-row heading into Friday’s showdown with Clarksville.

In order to do that, the Lady Panthers will have to continue to play what Riddle described as “consistent” basketball.

“Right now we are playing that way,” he said. “We are consistently shooting the ball, rebounding fairly, not turning the ball over and not getting in a hurry.”

Riddle also said everyone is pitching in and doing their job.

“Libby’s (Stutts) is starting to shoot the ball well right now,” he said before continuing, “Jillian’s (Herring) is playing hard. We played well on the road. We had three tough road games so far, we’ll see if we can stay on that streak (tonight).”

Senior Claudia Newberry is one of those who is probably playing the best basketball of Lady Panther career finishing with 10 points in a victory at Dardanelle on Feb. 4 and 14 points at Ozark on Jan. 31.

“Our post play as been a lot better,” Riddle said. “We’ve had different ones that we are able to go to now and get some things done.”

Heber Springs has wrapped up at least the three seed for next week’s 4A-4 District Tournament at Dardanelle. With a win tonight at Morrilton and a win on Friday against Clarksville, the Lady Panthers will be the No. 2 seed and earn a spot in the district tournament semifinals and an automatic to the regional tournament in two weeks at Berryville.

Heber Springs can still get the No. 2 seed with a loss against Morrilton tonight, but the Lady Panthers would have to beat Clarksville by eight or more points to earn the spot.

“It will be huge, still a lot there (to play for),” Riddle said. “We just need to go take care of business.”

February 4
HEBER SPRINGS AT DARDANELLE
Heber Springs 10 15 13  12 - 50
Dardanelle     2  7  6  11 - 26
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (50): Jillian Herring 18, Claudia Newberry 10, Ellie Riddle 8, Mary Shearer 8, LiLi Chaney 3, Brandy Meredith 2, Ashley Spanel 1
DARDANELLE SCORING (26): Doughtrey 10, Abby Apple 6, Anette Navarrette 5, Brooklyn Tidwell 3, Ellie Stokes 2

January 31
HEBER SPRINGS AT OZARK
Heber Springs 14   9  12  8 - 43
Ozark          9  10  13  7 - 39
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (43): Claudia Newberry 14, Jillian Herring 11, Ellie Riddle 7, Libby Stutts 6, Ashley Spanel 4, Mary Shearer 2
OZARK SCORING (39): Mary Grace Ree 15, Kelsee Barnett 10, Summer Joy 7, Autumn Joy 4, Tanner Richard 3
4A-4 STANDINGS
                 Conference Season
Morrilton           10-1     17-5 
Clarksville          8-3     12-12
Heber Springs        7-3     16-7
Pottsvile            5-5     11-9
Dover                5-5     14-9  
Ozark                1-9     13-11 
Dardanelle           0-10     2-22
HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR GIRLS 
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
RECORD: 16-7
4A-4 RECORD: 7-3
November 12 - Heber Springs 55, Nemo Vista 31
November 19 - Heber Springs 70, South Side Bee Branch 45
November 21 - Heber Springs 67, Riverview 27
November 26 - Heber Springs 56, Clinton 54 (OT)
December 3 - Conway St. Joseph 47, Heber Springs 44 #
December 5 - Heber Springs 53, South Side Bee Branch 34 #
December 7 - Heber Springs 44, Wonderview 43 #
December 10 - Heber Springs 59, Dover 56 ^
December 13 - Marshall 70, Heber Springs 52
December 16 - Heber Springs 51, White County Central 31
December 20 - Heber Springs 55, Ozark 42 ^
December 26 - Heber Springs 70, DeWitt 34 *
December 27 - Pea Ridge 49, Heber Springs 44 *
December 28 - Mayflower 58, Heber Springs 37 *
January 7 - Pottsville 49, Heber Springs 45 ^
January 9 - Heber Springs 70, Newport 51
January 14 - Heber Springs 47, Dardanelle 29 ^
January 17 - Clarksville 48, Heber Springs 41 ^
January 21 - Morrilton 52, Heber Springs 32 ^
January 24 - Heber Springs 59, Dover 53 ^
January 28 - Heber Springs 74, Pottsville 64 ^
January 31 - Heber Springs 43, Ozark 39 ^
February 4 - Heber Springs 52, Dardanelle 25 ^
February 11 - at Morrilton ^
February 14 - Clarksville (Senior Night) ^
February 17 - 4A-4 District at Dardanelle

(# - Denotes Conway St. Joseph Tournament)
(^ - Denotes 4A-4 conference contest)
(* - Denotes Steve Landers' Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Tournament at Heber Springs)
($ - Denotes 4A-4 District Tournament at Dardanelle)

Heber Springs junior girls get host Ozark at district tourney

January 10, 2020

Heber Springs heads into tonight’s 4A-4 junior girls district tournament having lost its regular season finale to Dardanelle on February 4th, but coach Jamey Riddle likes his team’s chances.

The Panthers will open with the host Ozark at 6:15 p.m. as the No. 4 seed. Ozark defeated Heber Springs in the district title game last season.

“We’ve beat Ozark both times this year,” Riddle said. “We just need to show up and play.”

He added that is something that Heber Springs has done on two out of it’s last three conference road trips, a 52-24 setback to Pottsville on January 28th and a 36-20 loss at Dardanelle on February 4th.

“We went over to Pottsville and laid an egg,” Riddle said. “We just didn’t play very well.”

Against the Sand Lizards, the Panthers trailed 10-2 at the end of the first quarter and 19-7 at the half, and couldn’t overcome the deficit.

“We only lost to by three here (to Dardanelle) in a game that we felt like we should have won,” Riddle said. “We just didn’t get it done.”

The Panthers entered what Riddle called a “little slump” after a big 55-52 win over Dover on January 24th. Heber Springs played a good Mayflower team, one that handed Dover it’s first loss of the season before the Panthers beat them for it’s second, on the road on a Monday before traveling to Pottsville the following day.

“They beat us pretty good, but they only beat us by five here,” Riddle said. “We just didn’t play very well, and we had a few that weren’t feeling very with all of the sickness that was going around.”

A win by Heber Springs and the Panthers would get Pottsville in a semifinal contest at 4 p.m. on Thursday.

“I like our chances and where we are at (in the bracket),” Riddle said. “You never know. Practice has been good in the mornings and this is going to be a new week. You just have to show up and play.”

February 4
HEBER SPRINGS AT DARDANELLE
Heber Springs  2  5  4  9 - 20
Dardanelle    10  9  8  9 - 36
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (20): Sophia Stone 6, Rylee Harrod 4, Riley Bailey 3, Emmie Fuller 3, Molly Smith 2, Cristina Garcia 2
DARDANELLE SCORING (36): Rylea Manning 12, Bethani Walter 10, Kaylee Meredith 4, Karlie Barber-Cursh 4, Avery Robinson 3, Gabby Ganadino 2, Jayden Vasquez 1

January 31
HEBER SPRINGS AT OZARK
Heber Springs  9  10  10  6 - 35
Ozark          6   2   0  7 - 15
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (35): Sophia Stone 14, Jaylea Hooten 10, Rylee Harrod 5, Savannah Stout 2, Molly Smith 2, Marin McKenzie 2
OZARK SCORING (15): No. 10 5, Ree 3, Powell 3, Burns 2, Bailey 1, Woolsey 1
HEBER SPRINGS JUNIOR GIRLS BASKETBALL
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
COACH: Jamey Riddle
OVERALL RECORD: 11-10
4A-4 RECORD: 3-5
November 9 - Heber Springs 27, Greenbrier 16 ^
November 12 - Heber Springs 33, Nemo Vista 27
November 14 - Dover 60, Heber Springs 49 ^
November 16 - Heber Springs 40, Marshall 25 ^
November 19 - Heber Springs 44, South Side Bee Branch 22
November 21 - Heber Springs 46, Riverview 13
November 23 - Heber Springs 62, Cabot South 8th 10 *
November 23 - Conway Blue 35, Heber Springs 29 *
November 26 - Clinton 48, Heber Springs 40
December 10 - Dover 43, Heber Springs 33 #
December 12 - Heber Springs 52, South Side Bee Branch 31
December 20 - Heber Springs 21, Ozark 7 #
January 7 - Pottsville 34, Heber Springs 31 #
January 9 - Heber Springs 40, Newport 21
January 14 - Dardanelle 32, Heber Springs 29 #
January 16 - Mount Vernon-Enola 38, Heber Springs 33
January 24 - Heber Springs 55, Dover 52 #
January 27 - Mayflower 47, Heber Springs 42
January 28 - Pottsville 52, Heber Springs 24 #
January 31 - Heber Springs 35, Ozark 15 #
February 3 - Quitman (Canceled/Flu)
February 4 - Dardanelle 36, Heber Springs 20 #
February 10 - Heber Springs at Ozark $

(^ - Denotes Marshall Tournament)
(* - Denotes Heber Springs Tournament)
(# - Denotes 4A-4 Conference Game)
($ - Denotes 4A-4 District Tournament at Ozark)

Heber Springs drops two in junior girls play

January 28, 2020

The Heber Springs junior girls went on the road and dropped a pair of contests.

On Monday, Heber Springs fell to Mayflower, 47-42, in nonconference play and followed that by dropping a 52-24 decision in 4A-4 play at Pottsville.

Heber Springs travels to Ozark on Friday before closing out the regular season next week at home against Quitman on Monday before travelling to Dardanelle on Tuesday to close out 4A-4 play.

On Monday against Mayflower, Heber Springs led 19-7 at the end of the first quarter and 29-21 at the half before falling to Mayflower. The Panthers held an eight-point advantage heading into the final stanza but could only manage a pair of Jaylea Hooten field goals an were outscored in the final quarter.

Hooten finished with 12 points as Sophia Stone paced Heber Springs with 15 points.

The two teams combined to shot 52 free throws as Mayflower was 19 of 31 from the line while Heber Springs was 11 of 21.

On Tuesday, Heber Springs trailed 30-15 at the break and fell, 52-24, to Pottsville.

Stone finished with 15 to pace the Panthers while Hooten added 12.

JANUARY 28 BOXSCORE
Heber Springs at Pottsville
Heber Springs  8  7  7  2 - 24
Pottsville    14 16 11 11 - 52
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (24): Sophia Stone 11, Jaylea Hooten 9, Molly Smith 2, Hope Turney 2
POTTSVILLE SCORING (52): AbbiGrace Cunningham 14, Tawnie Sweeden 12, Harmony Garner 12, Annleigh Pennington 6, R. Boley 4,  B. Harvis 2, Kennedy Corbin 1, S. B. Francis 1

JANUARY 27 BOXSCORE
Heber Springs at Mayflower
Heber Springs  19  10  9  4 - 42
Mayflower       7  14 10 20 - 47
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (42): Sophia Stone 15, Jaylea Hooten 12, Hope Turney 7, Rylee Harrod 4, Riley Bailey 2, Madison Clemons 2
MAYFLOWER SCORING (47): Williamson 21, Francis 11, Webb 9, Mahnken 6
HEBER SPRINGS JUNIOR GIRLS BASKETBALL
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
COACH: Jamey Riddle
OVERALL RECORD: 10-9
4A-4 RECORD: 2-4
November 9 - Heber Springs 27, Greenbrier 16 ^
November 12 - Heber Springs 33, Nemo Vista 27
November 14 - Dover 60, Heber Springs 49 ^
November 16 - Heber Springs 40, Marshall 25 ^
November 19 - Heber Springs 44, South Side Bee Branch 22
November 21 - Heber Springs 46, Riverview 13
November 23 - Heber Springs 62, Cabot South 8th 10 *
November 23 - Conway Blue 35, Heber Springs 29 *
November 26 - Clinton 48, Heber Springs 40
December 10 - Dover 43, Heber Springs 33 #
December 12 - Heber Springs 52, South Side Bee Branch 31
December 20 - Heber Springs 21, Ozark 7 #
January 7 - Pottsville 34, Heber Springs 31 #
January 9 - Heber Springs 40, Newport 21
January 14 - Dardanelle 32, Heber Springs 29 #
January 16 - Mount Vernon-Enola 38, Heber Springs 33
January 24 - Heber Springs 55, Dover 52 #
January 27 - Mayflower 47, Heber Springs 42
January 28 - Pottsville 52, Heber Springs 24 #
January 31 - at Ozark #
February 3 - Quitman
February 4 - at Dardanelle #
February 10 - District Tournament at Ozark

(^ - Denotes Marshall Tournament)
(* - Denotes Heber Springs Tournament)
(# - Denotes 4A-4 Conference Game)

Lady Panthers hold Dover for key 4A-4 win

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.”

JANUARY 24 BOXSCORE
Dover at Heber Springs
Dover         13  12  14  14 - 53
Heber Springs 14  20  10  15 - 59
DOVER SCORING (53): Avery Reichert 11, Amelia Besterfeldt 10, Audrey Reichert 9, Kaylee Singleton 8, Faith Bowden 5, Gracie Bowden 5, Jacqueline Fields 3, Haley Villareal 2
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (59): Ellie Riddle 18, Libby Stutts 15, Jillian Herring 11, Claudia Newberry 8, Mary Shearer 4, Ashley Spanel 3

JANUARY 17 BOXSCORE
Heber Springs at Clarksville
Clarksville    14 13  4 17 - 48
Heber Springs   5 11 10 15 - 41
CLARKSVILLE SCORING (48): Autumn Miller 13, Abby Domerese 11, Emmaline Rieder 10, Kenleigh Rieder 9, Myra Smith 5
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (41): Jillian Herring 14, Libby Stutts 13, Claudia Newberry 12, Ashley Spanel 2
 4A-4 STANDINGS
                 Conference Season
Clarksville          6-1     10-10
Morrilton            6-1     13-5
Heber Springs        4-3     13-7
Pottsvile            4-3     10-7
Dover                3-4     12-8  
Ozark                1-6     13-7 
Dardanelle           0-6      2-18
HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR GIRLS 
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
RECORD: 13-7
4A-4 RECORD: 4-3
November 12 - Heber Springs 55, Nemo Vista 31
November 19 - Heber Springs 70, South Side Bee Branch 45
November 21 - Heber Springs 67, Riverview 27
November 26 - Heber Springs 56, Clinton 54 (OT)
December 3 - Conway St. Joseph 47, Heber Springs 44 #
December 5 - Heber Springs 53, South Side Bee Branch 34 #
December 7 - Heber Springs 44, Wonderview 43 #
December 10 - Heber Springs 59, Dover 56 ^
December 13 - Marshall 70, Heber Springs 52
December 16 - Heber Springs 51, White County Central 31
December 20 - Heber Springs 55, Ozark 42 ^
December 26 - Heber Springs 70, DeWitt 34 *
December 27 - Pea Ridge 49, Heber Springs 44 *
December 28 - Mayflower 58, Heber Springs 37 *
January 7 - Pottsville 49, Heber Springs 45 ^
January 9 - Heber Springs 70, Newport 51
January 14 - Heber Springs 47, Dardanelle 29 ^
January 17 - Clarksville 48, Heber Springs 41 ^
January 21 - Morrilton 52, Heber Springs 32 ^
January 24 - Heber Springs 59, Dover 53 ^
January 28 - at Pottsville ^
January 31 - at Ozark ^
February 4 - at Dardanelle ^
February 11 - at Morrilton ^
February 14 - Clarksville (Senior Night) ^
February 17 - 4A-4 District at Dardanelle

(# - Denotes Conway St. Joseph Tournament)
(^ - Denotes 4A-4 conference contest)
(* - Denotes Steve Landers' Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Tournament at Heber Springs)

Stone scores 31 as Heber Springs downs Dover

Heber Springs’ Sophia Stone looks to drive to the basket after getting help off a screen from teammate Jaylea Hooten during action in December at the Panther Den. Stone scored 31 points in helping lead Heber Springs to a 55-52 victory over Dover on Jan. 24 at the Panther Den. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

January 24, 2020

Sophia Stone scored a career-high 31 points as Heber Springs downed Dover, 55-52, in junior girls action Friday night at the Panther Den.

The win by Heber Springs was the first in three tries against Dover this season. Dover handed the Panthers their first setback of the season, 60-49, on Nov. 14 at the Marshall tournament and then downed Heber Springs, 43-33, in the conference opener for the Panthers on Dec. 10 at Dover.

But on Friday it was Heber Springs that would come out on top.

Dover jumped out to a 14-7 advantage at the end of the first quarter and also led 24-21 at the break, but the Panthers would come out of the half and take an eight-point advantage into the final stanza as Stone scored 11 points of the 15 Heber Springs points in the quarter.

In the fourth, the game got bogged down at the free-throw line as Dover hit 14 out of 18 from the charity stripe while Heber Springs was 5-of-9, but the Panthers were able to hold on as Stone was a perfect 4-of-4 in the quarter from the line. She finished the night by going 9-of-11 from the charity stripe.

Dover’s Abree McCrotty, who had a combined 49 points in the previous two meetings with Heber Springs, finished the night with 29 points, going a perfect 9-of-9 from the line in the fourth quarter. She finished the night by going 13-of-19 from the stripe.

The two teams combined to shot 57 free throws on the night as Dover went 20-34 from the line while Heber Springs was 13-of-23.

Jaylea Hooten finished the night with 19 points, including eight in the final quarter.

The loss was only Dover’s second of the season and their first in 4A-4 conference play as Heber Springs improved to 10-7 overall and 2-3 in the conference.

Heber Springs will travel to Mayflower on Monday for a nonconference contest. The Eagles handed Dover its first loss of the season. On Tuesday, the Panthers will travel to Pottsville for a 4A-4 contest. The Apaches downed Heber Springs earlier this year at the Panther Den, 34-31.

DOVER AT HEBER SPRINGS BOXSCORE
Dover        14 10  4 24 - 52
Heber Springs 7 14 15 19 - 55
DOVER SCORING (52): Abree McCrotty 29, A. Reams 17, S. McClendon 3, L. Young 3
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (55): Sophia Stone 31, Jaylea Hooten 19, Riley Bailey 2, Addison Hudspeth 2, Hope Turney 1
HEBER SPRINGS JUNIOR GIRLS BASKETBALL
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
COACH: Jamey Riddle
OVERALL RECORD: 10-7
4A-4 RECORD: 2-3
November 9 - Heber Springs 27, Greenbrier 16 ^
November 12 - Heber Springs 33, Nemo Vista 27
November 14 - Dover 60, Heber Springs 49 ^
November 16 - Heber Springs 40, Marshall 25 ^
November 19 - Heber Springs 44, South Side Bee Branch 22
November 21 - Heber Springs 46, Riverview 13
November 23 - Heber Springs 62, Cabot South 8th 10 *
November 23 - Conway Blue 35, Heber Springs 29 *
November 26 - Clinton 48, Heber Springs 40
December 10 - Dover 43, Heber Springs 33 #
December 12 - Heber Springs 52, South Side Bee Branch 31
December 20 - Heber Springs 21, Ozark 7 #
January 7 - Pottsville 34, Heber Springs 31 #
January 9 - Heber Springs 40, Newport 21
January 14 - Dardanelle 32, Heber Springs 29 #
January 16 - Mount Vernon-Enola 38, Heber Springs 33
January 24 - Heber Springs 55, Dover 52 #
January 27 - at Mayflower
January 28 - at Pottsville #
January 31 - at Ozark #
February 3 - Quitman
February 4 - at Dardanelle #
February 10 - District Tournament at Ozark

(^ - Denotes Marshall Tournament)
(* - Denotes Heber Springs Tournament)
(# - Denotes 4A-4 Conference Game)

Morrilton stops Heber Springs senior girls

January 21, 2020

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

Morrilton seized the momentum midway through the second quarter, dominated the second half and pulled away from the Heber Springs Lady Panthers 52-32 in a 4-4A Conference basketball game at the Panther Den Tuesday.

The Lady Panthers (3-3 in conference and 12-7 overall) finished the first half of the season in a third-place tie with Dover and Pottsville.

Libby Stutts led Heber Springs with 14 points. A’mya Everette and Grace Brown each scored 12 points for Morrilton, followed by Cheyanne Kemp with 10 points.

The Lady Devil Dogs outscored Heber Springs 28-13 during the second half.

“Part of it may have been Morrilton’s defense, but we had a bad shooting game,” Heber Springs coach Jamey Riddle said. “We were getting wide-open shots and didn’t make a lot of them. We didn’t have good shot selection at times”

Heber Springs broke a 9-9 tie late in the first quarter on Jillian Herring’s field goal. Stutts made a 3-pointer, which was matched by the Lady Devil Dogs. Herring hit a 3-pointer as Morrilton scored in the final seconds.
The Lady Panthers led 17-14 lead going into the second quarter.

Morrilton regained the lead on a 6-2 run and never trailed again. The Lady Devil Dogs led 24-19 at halftime.

Morrilton outscored the Lady Panthers 15-9 and took a 39-28 lead into the fourth quarter.

“I felt we would come out for the start of the second half and play better,” Riddle said.”I wish we have played with more intensity.”

Heber Springs will begin the second half of the conference schedule by hosting Dover Friday. The Lady Panthers won in the first meeting of the two teams in Dover.

“We need to put this game behind us and move forward,” Riddle said. “We can’t feel sorry about ourselves. We need to focus on what we need to do, not what our next opponent will do.”  

The junior girls’ game will start at 4 p.m., followed by the junior boys, senior girls and senior boys games.

HEBER SPRINGS BOXSCORE
Morrilton     14 10 15 13 - 52
Heber Springs 17  2  9  4 - 32
MORRILTON SCORING (52): A'mya Everette 12, Grace Brown 12, Cheyanne Kemp 10, Jhyla Calvin 8, Kennedy Reel 5, Kaylee Mitchell 3, Mary Kate Tipton 2.
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (32): Libby Stutts 14, Jillian Herring 9, Ellie Riddle 4, Claudia Newberry 3, Brandy Meredith 2.  
4A-4 STANDINGS
                 Conference Season
Clarksville          6-0     10-9
Morrilton            5-1     12-5
Heber Springs        3-3     12-7
Pottsvile            3-3      9-7
Dover                3-3     12-7  
Ozark                1-5     13-6 
Dardanelle           0-6      2-18
HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR GIRLS 
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
RECORD: 12-7
4A-4 RECORD: 3-3
November 12 - Heber Springs 55, Nemo Vista 31
November 19 - Heber Springs 70, South Side Bee Branch 45
November 21 - Heber Springs 67, Riverview 27
November 26 - Heber Springs 56, Clinton 54 (OT)
December 3 - Conway St. Joseph 47, Heber Springs 44 #
December 5 - Heber Springs 53, South Side Bee Branch 34 #
December 7 - Heber Springs 44, Wonderview 43 #
December 10 - Heber Springs 59, Dover 56 ^
December 13 - Marshall 70, Heber Springs 52
December 16 - Heber Springs 51, White County Central 31
December 20 - Heber Springs 55, Ozark 42 ^
December 26 - Heber Springs 70, DeWitt 34 *
December 27 - Pea Ridge 49, Heber Springs 44 *
December 28 - Mayflower 58, Heber Springs 37 *
January 7 - Pottsville 49, Heber Springs 45 ^
January 9 - Heber Springs 70, Newport 51
January 14 - Heber Springs 47, Dardanelle 29 ^
January 17 - Clarksville 48, Heber Springs 41 ^
January 21 - Morrilton 52, Heber Springs 32 ^
January 24 - Dover ^
January 28 - at Pottsville ^
January 31 - at Ozark ^
February 4 - at Dardanelle ^
February 11 - at Morrilton ^
February 14 - Clarksville (Senior Night) ^
February 17 - 4A-4 District at Dardanelle

(# - Denotes Conway St. Joseph Tournament)
(^ - Denotes 4A-4 conference contest)
(* - Denotes Steve Landers' Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Tournament at Heber Springs)

Lady Panthers topple Dardanelle

Heber Springs’ Ellie Riddle (left) drives past a Dardanelle defender during Tuesday action at the Panther Den. MICHELLE McCARTY PHOTO

January 14, 2020

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

It didn’t take long for the Heber Springs Lady Panthers to establish control against Dardanelle at the Panther Den Tuesday.

Libby Stutts and Ashley Spanel each made 3-pointers during the opening two minutes as the Lady Panthers coasted past Dardanelle 47-29 in a 4-4A Conference basketball game.

Heber Springs (3-1 in conference, 12-5 overall) built a 15-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Dardanelle (0-4 in conference, 2-16 overall) didn’t score until 5:21 remaining in the first half.

The Lady Panthers led 29-8 at halftime and took a 38-14 lead into the fourth quarter.

Stutts paced a balanced Heber Springs attack with 13 points. Jillian Herring scored nine points and Spanel had eight points.

Abby Apple led Dardanelle with eight points.

“Dardanelle is not having a good year, but it can play and make the game ugly,” Heber Springs coach Jamey Riddle said. “I’m glad we played with a lot of intensity to start the game. The players knew Dardenelle’s record, but they didn’t play that way against them. We made more shots than our last game. We did a good job of running our offenses.”

Riddle said the team improved in two areas from previous games.

“We did a better job of rebounding and played good defense by holding them scoreless in the first quarter and eight points for the first half,” he said. “We used different presses to speed the game up. We wanted to keep the ball from getting inside.”

Riddle said Spanel’s shooting was a pleasant surprise.

“We don’t rely on Ashley to score a lot of points, but she is capable of making shots,” he said. “It was good to see her do that.”

Heber Springs will face one of its toughest challenges this season by playing conference leader Clarksville (5-0 in conference, 9-9 overall) on the road at 6 p.m. Friday.

“We welcome the opportunity to  upset a team at the top  of the conference standings,” Riddle said. “We can do that if we will play with the same intensity against Dardanelle.”

HEBER SPRINGS 47, DARDANELLE 29
Dardanelle     0  8 6 15 - 29
Heber Springs 15 14 9  9 - 47
DARDANELLE SCORING (29): Abby Apple 8, Grace Eidson 5, Anette Navarrete 4, Elizabeth Flores 4, Brooklyn Tidwell 3, Whitley Catlett 3, Ellie Stokes 1.
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (47) Libby Stutts 13, Jillian Herring 9, Ashley Spanel 8, Mary Shearer 6, Ellie Riddle 4, Claudia Newberry 5, Lili Chaney 1, Brandy Meredith 1.

JANUARY 9 BOXSCORE
HEBER SPRINGS 70, NEWPORT 51
Heber Springs 25 12 15 18 - 70
Newport       11 12 16 12 - 51
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (70): Jillian Herring 16, Libby Stutts 13, Ashley Spanel 10, Claudia Newberry 9, Ellie Riddle 8, Mary Sherear 6, Kylie Carr 4, Olivia Norton 4
NEWPORT SCORING (51): Jerikah Balentine 10, Kianna Fite 9, Maci Cagle 8, Alicia Neal 7, Hilda Price 5, Taniya Keener 4, Jakayla Dixon 2, Lindsey Marlar 2, Lucy Hernandez 2, Jiniekqua Rackley 2 
4A-4 STANDINGS
                 Conference Season
Clarksville          5-0      9-9
Morrilton            4-1     11-5
Heber Springs        3-1     12-5
Pottsvile            2-2      8-6
Dover                1-3     10-7  
Dardanelle           0-4      2-16
Ozark                0-4     12-5
HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR GIRLS 
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
RECORD: 12-5
4A-4 RECORD: 3-1
November 12 - Heber Springs 55, Nemo Vista 31
November 19 - Heber Springs 70, South Side Bee Branch 45
November 21 - Heber Springs 67, Riverview 27
November 26 - Heber Springs 56, Clinton 54 (OT)
December 3 - Conway St. Joseph 47, Heber Springs 44 #
December 5 - Heber Springs 53, South Side Bee Branch 34 #
December 7 - Heber Springs 44, Wonderview 43 #
December 10 - Heber Springs 59, Dover 56 ^
December 13 - Marshall 70, Heber Springs 52
December 16 - Heber Springs 51, White County Central 31
December 20 - Heber Springs 55, Ozark 42 ^
December 26 - Heber Springs 70, DeWitt 34 *
December 27 - Pea Ridge 49, Heber Springs 44 *
December 28 - Mayflower 58, Heber Springs 37 *
January 7 - Pottsville 49, Heber Springs 45 ^
January 9 - Heber Springs 70, Newport 51
January 14 - Heber Springs 47, Dardanelle 29 ^
January 17 - at Clarksville ^
January 21 - Morrilton ^
January 24 - Dover ^
January 28 - at Pottsville ^
January 31 - at Ozark ^
February 4 - at Dardanelle ^
February 11 - at Morrilton ^
February 14 - Clarksville (Senior Night) ^
February 17 - 4A-4 District at Dardanelle

(# - Denotes Conway St. Joseph Tournament)
(^ - Denotes 4A-4 conference contest)
(* - Denotes Steve Landers' Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Tournament at Heber Springs)

Heber Springs senior girls fall to Apaches

Heber Springs’ Claudia Newberry dribbles downcourt against Pottsville during Tuesday’s game at the Panther Den. MICHELLE McCARTY PHOTO

January 7, 2020

BY LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

Pottsville’s attempt for a higher-tempo game changed the momentum in the third quarter of Tuesday’s 4-4A Conference basketball game at the Panther Den.

The Heber Springs Lady Panthers built a 19-14 halftime lead, but Pottsville’s 14-4 scoring run during the third quarter proved too much to overcome in the 49-45 loss to the Lady Apaches.

The Lady Panthers, who trailed by eight points midway through the fourth quarter, reduced Pottsville’s lead to 44-42 on LibbyStutts’ 3-pointer with 31 seconds remaining.

The Lady Apaches answered by making 3-of-4 free throws before Heber Springs scored at the buzzer.

“We had good defensive intensity in the first half,” Heber Springs coach Jamey Riddle said. “Pottsville turned up the defensive pressure in the second half. They would score and then we would go to the other end of the floor and missed. Pottsville wanted to speed up the game and not let us get into our offense.”

Claudia Newberry led the Lady Panthers with 18 points. Jillian Herring scored 12 points and Ashley Spanel had 10 points. Lindsey Aday scored 12 points for Pottsville, while Abbie Cain contributed 10 points.

“We went cold in the fourth quarter,” Riddle said. “We got good shots. I was not worried trailing by three points going into the fourth quarter. \Ashley got in foul trouble and Ellie (Riddle) struggled shooting, but we kept working for good shots.”

Spanel’s 3-pointer broke a 4-4 tie  midway through the first quarter. Herring’s field goal increased it, but Pottsville didn’t go away and trailed 11-10 going into the second quarter.

Heber Springs built a three-point lead and maintained it throughout the second quarter. Newberry scored in the final seconds and gave the Lady Panthers a 19-14 halftime lead.

pulled even at 21-21 with a 7-2 scoring run to start the third quarter. The Lady Apaches increased their lead to five points before Newberry scored as Heber Springs trailed 32-29 going into the fourth quarter.

“We needed a turnover after reducing Pottsville’s lead to two points with 31 seconds left,” Riddle said. “We need to put this game behind us, be a little mad about losing and play like we did in the first half against Pottsville in our next game.”

Heber Springs (2-1 in confernce, 10-5 overall) will host Dardanelle in a conference game Tuesday.

POTTSVILLE 49, HEBER SPRINGS 45  
Pottsville    10 4 18 17 - 49  
Heber Springs 11 8 10 16 - 45  
POTTSVILLE SCORING (49): Lindsey Aday 12, Abbie Cain 10, Rilee Underwood 7, Tori Daniel 6, Julie Reynolds 5, Shannon Lasey 5, Kimbra Rhodes 4.    
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (45): Claudia Newberry 18, Jillian Herring 12, Ashley Spanel 10, Libby Stutts 3, Ellie Riddle 2.   
4A-4 STANDINGS
                 Conference Season
Clarksville          3-0      7-9
Morrilton            3-0     10-4
Heber Springs        2-1     10-5
Pottsvile            1-1      7-5
Dardanelle           0-2      2-14
Ozark                0-2     12-3
Dover                0-3      9-7 
HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR GIRLS 
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
RECORD: 10-5
4A-4 RECORD: 2-1
November 12 - Heber Springs 55, Nemo Vista 31
November 19 - Heber Springs 70, South Side Bee Branch 45
November 21 - Heber Springs 67, Riverview 27
November 26 - Heber Springs 56, Clinton 54 (OT)
December 3 - Conway St. Joseph 47, Heber Springs 44 #
December 5 - Heber Springs 53, South Side Bee Branch 34 #
December 7 - Heber Springs 44, Wonderview 43 #
December 10 - Heber Springs 59, Dover 56 ^
December 13 - Marshall 70, Heber Springs 52
December 16 - Heber Springs 51, White County Central 31
December 20 - Heber Springs 55, Ozark 42 ^
December 26 - Heber Springs 70, DeWitt 34 *
December 27 - Pea Ridge 49, Heber Springs 44 *
December 28 - Mayflower 58, Heber Springs 37 *
January 7 - Pottsville 49, Heber Springs 45 ^
January 14 - Dardanelle ^
January 17 - at Clarksville ^
January 21 - Morrilton ^
January 24 - Dover ^
January 28 - at Pottsville ^
January 31 - at Ozark ^
February 4 - at Dardanelle ^
February 11 - at Morrilton ^
February 14 - Clarksville (Senior Night) ^
February 17 - 4A-4 District at Dardanelle

(# - Denotes Conway St. Joseph Tournament)
(^ - Denotes 4A-4 conference contest)
(* - Denotes Steve Landers' Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Tournament at Heber Springs)

Lady Panthers fall in third-place game

Mayflower’s Hailey Carney and Heber Springs’ Mary Shearer battle for a loose ball during the third-place game at the Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Classic. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

December 28, 2019

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

A week of no games may be coming at the right times for the Heber Springs Lady Panthers.

The Lady Panthers finished the Steve Landers Cowboy Chevrolet-Heber Springs Holiday Basketball Classic with a 58-37 loss in the third-place game to Mayflower at the Panther Den Saturday.

Heber Springs (10-4) started the tournament with a win against DeWitt before Friday’s loss to Pea Ridge in the semifinals. The Lady Panthers will not play again until resuming 4-4A Conference play by hosting Pottsville on Tuesday.

“We played fairly well in the first tournament game, played well in the second game until a bad fourth quarter,” Heber Springs coach Jamey Riddle said. “It seemed we didn’t get over Friday’s loss.”

Heber Springs had a good start and stayed close throughout the first quarter. The Panthers trailed 8-7 midway through the quarter and took a 9-8 lead on Libby Stutts’ field goal. Mayflower then seized control and outscored Heber Springs 9-4 for a 17-13 lead going into the second quarter.

Ellie Riddle, who led the Lady Panthers with 21 points, made two jump shots and 1-of-2 free throws to reduce Mayflower’s lead to 19-18.

Kamiah Turner, who also had 21 points for Mayflower and playing with a broken nose, scored on an inside move and the Lady Eagles followed with a 6-1 scoring run and increased their lead to 27-19 by halftime.

Mayflower returned for the third quarter and maintained control with a 13-9 scoring run and led 40-28 going into the fourth quarter.

“We didn’t shoot well and forced a lot of shots,” Jamey Riddle said. “Mayflower played well, especially the big post girls, and got good guard play. We didn’t do that.”

Shooting will become one of the areas the team will work on in practice, but Riddle said rebounding must improve.

“We need Ellie to play that way, but our rebounding must get better and that is one of her roles,” he said.

Riddle believes the extra practice time will benefit the team as it prepares to resume conference play.

“Sometimes coming off a tough loss and a game you didn’t play well, practices are what you need,” he said. “We need to get back into the gym and work on things.”

Heber Springs is 2-0 against conference teams and will play one of the contenders for its next game.

“It’s conference games for the remainder of the season,” Riddle said. “Pottsville is one of the top teams. We can’t play this way against them. We need to play like the first three quarters against Pea Ridge.”

HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR GIRLS 
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
RECORD: 10-4
4A-4 RECORD: 2-0
November 12 - Heber Springs 55, Nemo Vista 31
November 19 - Heber Springs 70, South Side Bee Branch 45
November 21 - Heber Springs 67, Riverview 27
November 26 - Heber Springs 56, Clinton 54 (OT)
December 3 - Conway St. Joseph 47, Heber Springs 44 #
December 5 - Heber Springs 53, South Side Bee Branch 34 #
December 7 - Heber Springs 44, Wonderview 43 #
December 10 - Heber Springs 59, Dover 56 ^
December 13 - Marshall 70, Heber Springs 52
December 16 - Heber Springs 51, White County Central 31
December 20 - Heber Springs 55, Ozark 42 ^
December 26 - Heber Springs 70, DeWitt 34 *
December 27 - Pea Ridge 49, Heber Springs 44 *
December 28 - Mayflower 58, Heber Springs 37 *
January 7 - Pottsville ^
January 9 - at Newport
January 14 - Dardanelle ^
January 17 - at Clarksville ^
January 21 - Morrilton ^
January 24 - Dover ^
January 28 - at Pottsville ^
January 31 - at Ozark ^
February 4 - at Dardanelle ^
February 11 - at Morrilton ^
February 14 - Clarksville (Senior Night) ^
February 17 - 4A-4 District at Dardanelle

(# - Denotes Conway St. Joseph Tournament)
(^ - Denotes 4A-4 conference contest)
(* - Denotes Steve Landers' Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Tournament at Heber Springs)