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 2-18HEBER 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)