Lady Panthers fall in rubber match to Lady Hornets

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Heber Springs’ Jaylea Hooten drives for a basketball against South Side Bee Branch’s E. Thomas (35) late in the fourth quarter at the Panther. Hooten made the lay-up and a drew a foul on the play. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

HEBER SPRINGS – South Side Bee Branch’s final 12 points all came from the free-throw line as the Hornets held off Heber Springs, 44-36, in nonconference senior girls action at the Panther Den.

The win by South Side Bee Branch avenged a 47-41 victory by Heber Springs on Dec. 4 on a neutral court in Conway.

On Tuesday, a cold second quarter doomed the Panthers (8-2) as they were outscored 12-4 in the stanza to trail at the half 18-11.

Heber Springs, which trailed 26-18 at the end of the third, went on an 8-1 run midway through the fourth quarter to pull within three at 29-26 after a 3-pointer by Sophie Stone and a three-point play by Jaylea Hooten with 4:11 left.

After a pair of free throws by South Side’s Jewel Walley, the Panthers would make it a 2-point game at 31-29 with three minutes left. Stone would hit the front end of a one-and-one while Hooten would stick the rebound back up for two.

Brinkley Smith would have an answer for the Hornets on their next possession when she drilled a 3-pointer from the corner to make 34-29.

From that point on, South Side Bee Branch (10-10) would hit 12-of-14 over the final 2:08 to hold on for the win.

On the night, the Hornets hit 21-of-25 (84 percent) while Heber Springs was 1o-of-17 (58.5 percent).

Hooten led all scorers with 19 points.

Heber Springs will open conference play Friday night at Ozark (7-3).

HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (36): Madison Clemons 1, Jaylea Hooten 19, Addison Hudspeth 4, Sophie Stone 7, Savannah Stout 3, Molly Smith 2

SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH SCORING (44): Erin Holland 2, Brinkley Smith 7, Marli Huddleston 4, Mollie Leonard 7, Jewel Walley 8, Emily Walley 13, Maggie Bradford 2, Emily Thomas 3

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HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR GIRLS
2021-2022 SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
(Click on a game for previous details)
(Record: 8-2, 4-4A Conference: 0-0)
Nov. 09   Heber Springs 53, Mount St. Mary 42
Nov. 15   Heber Springs 59, Newport 44
Nov. 18   Heber Springs 46, Bald Knob 33
Nov. 22   Heber Springs 55, Guy-Perkins 43
Nov. 23   Heber Springs 60, Shirley 20
Nov. 29   Mayflower 61, Heber Springs 25 +
Dec. 02   Heber Springs 45, Conway St. Joseph 44 +
Dec. 04   Heber Springs 47, South Side Bee Branch 41 +
Dec. 07   Heber Springs 49, Benton Harmony Grove 43
Dec. 14   South Side Bee Branch 44, Heber Springs 36
Dec. 17   at Ozark (JG, JB, SG, SB), 4 p.m. *
Dec. 20   at Lonoke (JG, JB, SG, SB), 4 p.m. 
Dec. 21   at Des Arc (JG, JB, SG, SB), 4 p.m.
Dec. 28-30 at Mount Vernon-Enola Tournament (SG, SB)
Jan. 04   Morrilton (SGJV, SBJV, SG, SB), 6 p.m. *
Jan. 07   at Dardanelle (JG, JB. SG, SB), 4 p.m. *
Jan. 11   at Clarksville (SBJV, SG, SB), 5 p.m. *
Jan. 14   Pottsville (JG, JB, SG, SB), 4 p.m. *
Jan. 21   Ozark (JG, JB, SG, SB), 4 p.m. *
Jan. 25   at Morrilton (SGJB, SBJB, SG, SB), 6 p.m. *
Feb. 01   Dardanelle (JG, JB, SG, SB), 4 p.m.
Feb. 03   Clarksville (SBJV, SG, SB), 5 p.m. *
Feb. 08   at Pottsville (SGJV, SG, SB), 6 p.m. *
Feb. 14   District Tournament at Subiaco Academy

(+ - Conway St. Joseph Tournament)

Heber Springs holds off South Side Bee Branch

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Heber Springs’ Lindsay Southerland dribbles past South Side Bee Branch’s Jewel Walley in senior girls action the Family Activities Center in Conway. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

CONWAY – Heber Springs got 16 points from Addison Hudspeth as the Panthers downed South Side Bee Branch, 47-41, in a consolation contest of the St. Joseph Tournament at the Family Activities Center.

Heber Springs led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter and 23-17 at the break.

The game remained tight throughout the third quarter as a Molly Smith basket gave the Panthers a 29-21 advantage with 5:45 left in the third quarter, before Marli Huddleton field goal capped a 6-0 run that put the score a 29-27 with 2:22 remaining in the stanza.

Hudspeth would go on a 5-0 run with a 3-pointer, one of three on the afternoon, and a short jumper with 59 seconds left pushed the Heber Springs advantage back to seven at 34-27.

Mollie Leonard hit a pair of free throws for the Hornets and Jewel Walley drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 34-31 heading into the final quarter.

Junior Jaylea Hooten would take over in the fourth quarter scoring seven points, including the only two field goals for Heber Springs in the quarter, to fuel a 7-2 run that saw the Panthers increase their advantage to 41-33 with 4:48 left.

South Side Bee Branch (7-9) would make it a six-point contest with less than a minute to go but Heber Springs would salt the game away from the free-throw line. The Panthers finished the quarter 9-of-15 from the line and 11-of-20 on the afternoon.

“The game was a little closer than I wanted it to be,” Heber Springs coach Spencer Gay said, “but I was proud of the effort and was really proud of the girls fixing some ball-handling problems we’ve had.”

Heber Springs came into the tournament with an undefeated record but suffered their first loss of the season in the pool-play opener to Mayflower.

“That  game was tough,” Gay said.  “I don’t want to harp on that because winning two out of three (in the tournament) was pretty big time for us. I was proud of that.”

The first-year Panther coach would later add that the loss could benefit Heber Springs when they get into conference play.

“They played us a style that we are going to see later down the road,” Gay said.  “I saw a (ball-handling) problem. Our kids saw a problem and they’ve worked every day since to fix it. It’s not going to happen overnight, but a month from now, but you are going to see a different team.”

The win improved Heber Springs to 7-1 on the season.

“I am ecstatic where we are,” Gay said. “I think it says a lot about the kids.”

HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (47): Hope Turney 1, Jaylea Hooten 15, Addison Hudspeth 16, Sophie Stone 4, Molly Smith 8, Emily Fuller 3.

SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH SCORING (41): Brinkley Smith 2, Marli Huddleston 3, Mollie Leonard 8, Jewel Walley 13, Emily Walley 14, Maggie Bradford 2.

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HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR GIRLS
2021-2022
(Click on a game for previous details)
(Record: 7-1, 4-4A Conference: 0-0)
Nov. 09   Heber Springs 53, Mount St. Mary 42
Nov. 15   Heber Springs 59, Newport 44
Nov. 18   Heber Springs 46, Bald Knob 33
Nov. 22   Heber Springs 55, Guy-Perkins 43
Nov. 23   Heber Springs 60, Shirley 20
Nov. 29   Mayflower 61, Heber Springs 25 +
Dec. 02   Heber Springs 45, Conway St. Joseph 44 +
Dec. 04   Heber Springs 47, South Side Bee Branch 41 +
Dec. 07   at Benton Harmony Grove (JG, SG, SB), 5 p.m.
Dec. 14   South Side Bee Branch (JG, SG, SB), 5 p.m.
Dec. 17   at Ozark (JG, JB, SG, SB), 4 p.m. *
Dec. 20   at Lonoke (JG, JB, SG, SB), 4 p.m. 
Dec. 21   at Des Arc (JG, JB, SG, SB), 4 p.m.
Dec. 28-30 at Mount Vernon-Enola Tournament (SG, SB)
Jan. 04   Morrilton (SGJV, SBJV, SG, SB), 6 p.m. *
Jan. 07   at Dardanelle (JG, JB. SG, SB), 4 p.m. *
Jan. 11   at Clarksville (SBJV, SG, SB), 5 p.m. *
Jan. 14   Pottsville (JG, JB, SG, SB), 4 p.m. *
Jan. 21   Ozark (JG, JB, SG, SB), 4 p.m. *
Jan. 25   at Morrilton (SGJB, SBJB, SG, SB), 6 p.m. *
Feb. 01   Dardanelle (JG, JB, SG, SB), 4 p.m.
Feb. 03   Clarksville (SBJV, SG, SB), 5 p.m. *
Feb. 08   at Pottsville (SGJV, SG, SB), 6 p.m. *
Feb. 14   District Tournament at Subiaco Academy

(+ - Conway St. Joseph Tournament)