Heber Springs’ Molly Smith and Pottsville’s Rylie Boley wait for the officials call after a tie-ball situation during Monday’s 4-4A senior girls contest at the Panther Den. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
HEBER SPRINGS – Pottsville blew open a close game in the third quarter to down Heber Springs, 45-27, in 4-4A senior girls action Monday night at the Panther Den.
Heber Springs (10-11 overall) remains winless in 4-4A play (0-7) and have not won a game since a 45-39 victory over Nemo Vista on Dec. 28 at the Mount Vernon-Enola tournament.
For Pottsville, the Apaches improved to 13-6 overall and more importantly kept pace with Morrilton for a share a of the conference lead at 6-1 in the 4-4A.
Monday night it was close for two quarters as Pottsville led 7-6 at the end of the first quarter and the Panthers managed to tie things up at 13-all at the half after a Hope Turney 3-pointer.
Pottsville opened the second half with a 5-0 run before Savannah Stout hit a jumper to make it 18-15 with 5:23 left in the third quarter.
A 10-0 run by the Apaches made it 28-15 at the 3:00 mark of the third quarter. A pair of Molly Smith free throws stopped the bleeding, but Pottsville would manage a 31-17 advantage at the end of three quarters.
Heber Springs returns to action Tuesday when they host Dardanelle (5-10, 4-4) at the Panther Den.
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (27): Hope Turney 3, Jaylea Hooten 8, Addison Hudspeth 3, Molly Smith 5, Savannah Stout 2, Madison Clemons 3, Sophia Stone 3.
POTTSVILLE SCORING (45): Rilee Underwood 11, Rylie Boley 6, Lindsey Aday 13, Layla Stroud 11, Tori Daniel 2, Annleigh Pennington 2
Jillian Herring and Claudia Newberry combined for 51 points as Heber Springs downed Pottsville, 74-64, in 4A-4 action Tuesday night.
Herring (4) and Stutts (3) combined for seven first-half 3-pointers as the Panthers led 37-32 at the break.
The Lady Panthers finished the night with 10 3-pointers while Dover had 9, including two in the third quarter as Heber Springs clung to a 55-49 advantage after the stanza.
Herring, who had six 3-pointers on the night, added one 3-pointer in the final quarter to go along with her 11 points in the period as the Lady Panthers held on for the win.
Stutts was also in double figures for Heber Springs (14-7) with 16 points.
The win by the Panthers over the Apaches even the season series but more importantly the 10-point win over Pottsville gave Heber Springs the conference-seeding tiebreaker if the two teams are tied at the end of the year. Pottsville had 49-45 on Jan. 7 at the Panther Den. Heber Springs also owns the tiebreaker over Dover.
Heber Springs travels to Ozark tonight hoping to win three in a row for the first time since mid-December.
DISTRICT TOURNAMENT: The 4A-4 district tournament will begin on February 17 at Dardanelle. The top two teams automatically get a bye into the semfinals and a sport at the regional tournament at Berryville. The No. 6 and No. 7 seeds will play on Monday with the winner advancing to face the No. 3 seed on Tuesday with the winner getting a spot in the semifinals and regional bid. The No. 4 and No. 5 seed will meet on Tuesday with the winner moving into Thursday’s semifinals.
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.
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)
