Heber Springs picks up first conference win

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

Heber Springs’ fullcourt press defense slowed down Dardanelle, but once the intensity picked up during the third quarter, the game quickly changed at the Panther Den Friday.

The Lady Panthers (1-2 in conference, 7-8 overall) led
16-11 at halftime and took control with a 17-4 third-quarter scoring run and coasted to a 42-26 win against Dardanelle in a 4-4A Conference basketball game.

“We talked about that at halftime,” Heber Springs coach Jamey Riddle said. “We wanted to apply more defensive pressure. We were not able to force many turnovers with our press during the first half.”

Jaylea Hooten and Ellie Riddle were a potent one-two scoring punch for Heber Springs. Hooten led all scorers with 21 points and Riddle contributed 14 points.
Brooklyn Tidwell and Bethani Walker had nine and eight points, respectively, for Dardanelle.

“During halftime, I asked Madison (Clemons) and Hope (Turney) to apply more defensive pressure,” Jamey Riddle said. “That allowed Ellie and Jaylea to go for steals, which led to transition buckets. We didn’t want to come down and set up our offense all of the time.”

The lead changed three times during a slow-paced first quarter. Annette Navarette connected on a 3-point shot, giving Dardanelle a 5-4 lead with two minutes left.

Hooten and Riddle answered with field goals for the Lady Panthers, who took an 8-5 lead into the second quarter.

Riddle scored on a drive to the basket and Sophie Stone made a 3-pointer, increasing the lead to 13-5. Rylea Manning put the Lady Sand Lizards on the board by hitting a 3-pointer.

Hooten’s field goal increased the Heber Springs lead to 15-8. Manning connected on 1-of-2 free throws and Navarette scored, pulling Dardanelle to within 15-11. Riddle made 1-of-2 free throws as the Lady Panthers led 16-11 at halftime.

Heber Springs went on a 10-0 scoring run during the first six minutes of the third quarter and increased its lead to 26-11. The Lady Panthers maintained control and led 33-15 going into the fourth quarter.

“Dardanelle switched to a man defense during the fourth quarter and we got a little too sluggish against it,” Riddle said. “We played good defense for most of the game and held down their two shooters. We did a better job of limiting Dardanelle’s shots.”

Riddle said the first conference win gave the team renewed confidence heading to the conclusion of the conference’s first half of the schedule.

“It felt good to get the win,” he said. “It was good to see players happy in the dressing room after the game. We lost a lot of close games and maybe this will get us going.”

Heber Springs will host Clarksville on Tuesday night with the senior recognition ceremony for all spring sport athletes scheduled to start at 5 p.m. Tip-off for the game will be 6 p.m. The Lady Panthers will complete the first half of the conference season at Pottsville on Friday.

Dardanelle 8 3 4 11–26
Heber Springs 8 8 17 9–42
Dardanelle scorers — Brooklyn Tidwell 9, Bethani Walker 8, Annette Navarette 5, Rylea Manning 3, Emma Daughtery 1.
Heber Springs scorers — Jaylea Hooten 21, Ellie Riddle 14, Sophie Stone 5, Madison Clemons 2.

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 junior girls fall to Mount Vernon-Enola

Heber Springs’ Rylee Harrod dribbles past a Mount Vernon-Enola defending in junior girls action at the Panther Den on Jan. 16. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

January 16, 2020

Sophia Stone finished with 15 points while Jaylea Hooten added 10 in a losing effort as Heber Springs fell to Mount Vernon-Enola, 38-33, in junior girls action at the Panther Den.

The two teams were tied at the half, 20-20, while the War Hawks led 29-26 at the end of the three quarters in the nonconference contest.

Heber Springs pulled to within one at 34-33 with 3:18 left after at Hooten basket but the Warhawks went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the win.

The junior girls return to action on Thursday when they host Marshall.

The Panthers have dropped three out of four contests to start the new year.

On Jan. 14, Stone finished with 16 points as Heber Springs fell to Dardanelle, 32-29, in a 4A-4 contest at the Panther Den.

On Jan. 9 at Newport in nonconference play, it was Hooten who finished with 16 as the Panthers downed the Greyhounds, 40-21.

Stone (15) and Hooten (10) both finished in double figures in a 34-31 setback to Pottsville in the Panther Den on Jan. 7.

JANUARY 16 BOXSCORE
Mount Vernon-Enola  7  13  9  9 - 38
Heber Springs       6  14  6  6 - 33
MOUNT VERNON-ENOLA SCORING (38): Raby 14, A.J. Person 6, Wooley  6, Vaught 6, Kelley 3, Pruitt 2, Jobe 1
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (33): Sophia Stone 15, Jaylea Hooten 10, Rylee Harrod 4, Hope Turney 2, Savannah Stout 2

JANUARY 14 BOXSCORE
Dardanelle        7  8  8  9 - 32
Heber Springs    12  4  4  9 - 29
DARDANELLE SCORING (32): Kaylee Meredith 14, Bethani Walter 8, Pfiefer Flemming 3, Karlie Barber-Cursh 3, Rylea Manning 2, Jayden Vasquez 2
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (29): Sophia Stone 16, Madison Clemons 6, Jaylea Hooten 4, Riley Bailey 2, Hope Turney 1

JANUARY 9 BOXSCORE
Newport        4  5   4  8 - 21
Heber Springs  8  8  16  8 - 40 
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (40): Jaylea Hooten 16, Sophia Stone 8, Addison Hudspeth 6, Madison Clemons 3, Hope Turney 2, Riley Bailey 2, Cristina Garcia 2, Mary Evans 1

JANUARY 7 BOXSCORE
Pottsville    9  7  8  10 - 34
Heber Springs 6 10  4  11 - 31
POTTSVILLE SCORING (34): Garner 8, Pennington 8, Sweeden 8, Cunningham 6, Greathouse 2, Francis 2
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (31): Sophia Stone 15, Jaylea Hooten 10, Madison Clemons 4, Riley Bailey 2
HEBER SPRINGS JUNIOR GIRLS BASKETBALL
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
COACH: Jamey Riddle
OVERALL RECORD: 9-7
4A-4 RECORD: 1-3
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 23 - Marshall
January 24 - Dover #
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)