SUBIACO – The Heber Springs Lady Panthers didn’t go away without a fight against Dardanelle in Tuesday’s quarterfinal game at the 4-4A Conference Basketball Tournament.
Dardanelle (8-10) went on a 13-3 scoring run, beginning with one minute left in the third quarter to 3:45 remaining in the game, and defeated the Lady Panthers 46-36.
Heber Springs, which lost its 12 consecutive game, finished the season at 10-15. The Lady Panthers’ last win came against Nemo Vista at the Mount Vernon-Enola Holiday Tournament in late December.
Jaylea Hooten and Addison Hudspeth led Heber Springs each with eight points. Hudspeth and Savannah Stout each made two 3-pointers. Hope Turney and Madison Clemons each had a 3-pointer.
Karlie Cursh scored a game high 17 points for Dardanelle. Bethani Walter contributed nine points.
The Lady Sand Lizards led throughout the first half with a 4-2 lead after the first quarter and 17-12 at halftime.
But momentum shifted to the Lady Panthers early during the third quarter. Stroud hit back-to-back 3-pointers for an 18-17 lead. Dardanelle regained the lead on two free throws by Cursh. Heber Springs then recaptured the lead on Hudspeth’s 3-pointer.
The Lady Sand Lizards pulled within one and later took the lead for good on Grace McIntyre’s 3-pointer with one minute to go in the third quarter.
Savannah Williams scored during closing seconds for a 29-25 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Dardanelle put the game away by completing the 13-3 scoring run and led by as much as 15 points, 46-31, with 48 seconds left.
Heber Springs 2 10 13 11 –36 Dardanelle 4 13 12 17–46 HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (36): Jaylea Hooten 8, Addison Hudspeth 8, Savannah Stout 6, Molly Smith 4, Sophie Stone 4, Madison Clemons 3, Hope Turney 3. DARDANELLE SCORING (46): Karlie Cursh 17, Bethani Walter 9, Grace McIntyre 6, Jayden Vazquez 6, Savannah Williams 4, Audry Rowan 2, Elizabeth Earnest 2.
Heber Springs’ Jaylea Hooten drives for a lay-up against Clarksville’s Macy Weathers. Hooten was fouled on the play. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
HEBER SPRINGS – Clarksville hit a pair of 3-pointers late in the first quarter and didn’t look back in downing Heber Springs, 47-30, in 4-4A senior girls play.
A Jaylea Hooten free throw for Heber Springs made it a one-point game at 5-4 in favor of Clarksville with 2:11 left in the opening quarter, but Clarksville’s Macy Weathers hit 3-pointers with 1:08 left and at the first-quarter buzzer to make it an 11-4 contest.
Heber Springs (10-13 overall, 0-9 in 4-4A) cut the deficit to under 10 points twice in the second quarter. An Emily Fuller 3-pointer at the 5:59 mark made it 14-7 and a Hooten three-point play with 1:01 left in the half cut the Clarksville (8-13, 5-4) lead to 9 at 21-12. But the visiting Panthers, again hit a pair of 3-pointers to close out the quarter with a 27-12 halftime lead.
Fuller paced Heber Springs with 8 points while Clarksville’s Kenleigh Rieder led all scorers with 14 points. The visiting Panthers led 38-19 at the end of three quarters.
Heber Springs travels to Pottsville Tuesday for its regular-season finale.
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
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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HASKELL – With Heber Springs’ leading scorer Jaylea Hooten held to four points, a trio of Panthers stepped up finishing in double figures in helping lead Heber Springs to a 49-43 nonconference victory over Benton Harmony Grove.
Addison Hudspeth paced Heber Springs with 16 points as the Panthers were tied at 9-all at the end of the first quarter and led 24-13 at the break.
Savannah Stout finished with 12 and Hope Turney added 11 to round out the trio that scored in double figures.
The Cardinals got back into the contest in the third quarter outscoring Heber Springs 18-8, thanks in part to four 3-pointers in the quarter by senior Kallyn Sussamon.
Sussamon scored a game-high 20 points, including nailing six of the seven 3-pointers made by Harmony Grove on the night.
Heber Springs dropped 11 3-pointers led by Stout with four, Turner and Hudspeth with three and Emily Fuller with one.
The Panthers outscored the Cardinals, 17-12, in the final quarter.
SHIRLEY – Heber Springs raced out to a 25-4 first-quarter advantage and didn’t look back in downing Shirley, 60-20, in nonconference action.
Eleven players scored for the Panthers, paced by Emily Fuller’s 9 points, as Heber Springs led 46-6 at the half and 55-6 at the end of the third quarter.
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (60): Hope Turney 7, Madison Clemons 6, Jaylea Hooten 6, Addison Hudspeth 5, Sophie Stone 5, Savannah Stout 3, Lindsay Southerland 8, Molly Smith 6, Olivia Norton 3, Emily Fuller 9, Ava Little 2.
Heber Springs’ Savannah Stout brings the ball up the court against Guy-Perkins Monday night at the Panther Den. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
HEBER SPRINGS – Jaylea Hooten finished with a game-high 22 points as Heber Springs downed Guy-Perkins, 55-43, Monday night at the Panther Den.
While Hooten garnered the attention of Thunderbirds and the scoring honors, it was a sophomore for the Lady Panthers that probably saved the night as Savannah Stout knocked down five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points.
“She’s probably the reason we won in all honesty,” Heber Springs coach Spencer Gay said. “It’s nice we have different weapons. It was Addison (Hudspeth) that stepped up for us at Bald Knob and tonight it was Savannah.
“I was really proud of Savannah for that.”
It was a slow start for the Lady Panthers after a Jo’Mia Ealy basket gave Guy-Perkins an 8-1 lead with 2:46 left in the opening quarter.
“I knew we were going to be in a little bit of trouble, because their style (of play) is not one we like,” Gay said. “I just had to find a way to get the girls settled in, and it was not even me. The girls just settled themselves pretty well.”
A Hooten 3-pointer at the 2:32 mark of the first quarter provided the first field goal for Heber Springs.
“Once they scored their first bucket,” Gay said, “we can breath and the rest kind of took care of itself.”
The “rest” was a 9-0 run over the next 1:05 to take a 10-8 advantage, before the two teams ended the quarter at 13-all.
The game would remain a back-and-forth affair throughout most of the second quarter before a Hooten free throw would spark an 8-0 run to close out the first half with Heber Springs on top 28-20.
Hooten, who finished the night 9-of-12 from the free-throw line, had 16 points in the first half.
“Every time she touches the ball, you have to know where she is at,” Gay said of Hooten. “I am just impressed with our kids ability to say, ‘You know what, we’ve got your back Jaylea’.”
The Lady Panthers would push their advantage to 10 points after a Stout 3-pointer with 5:46 left in the third quarter.
Field goals by Julissia Young and Mia James would pull the Thunderbirds to within six at 33-27 with 2:35 to go in the third, but the Lady Panthers would go on a 17-0 run over the next seven minutes of game play to take a commanding 50-27 advantage. Stout would fuel the run with three 3-pointers over that stretch.
James paced Guy-Perkins with 13 points as Heber Springs improved to 4-0 with the win.
“Guy scared the crap out of me because of their style,” Gay said. “I was proud of the girls. It was a good win.”
BALD KNOB – Addison Hudspeth finished with 18 points, including three 3-pointers, to help lead Heber Springs to a 46-33 victory over Bald Knob in senior girls nonconference action.
Jaylea Hooten added 15 points in the win, including hitting 7-of-9 from the free-throw line. As a team, the Panthers shot 11-of-17 from the line on the night.
Hope Turney finished with a pair of 3-points as Heber Springs hit six of them on the night.
The Panthers led 17-11 at the half and 32-22 after the end of three quarters of play.
For Bald Knob, Reigiana Ward tied for game-scoring honors with 18 points, including 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs hit 11-of-14 from the charity strip on the night.
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (46): Hope Turney 6, Jaylea Hooten 15, Addison Hudspeth 18, Sophie Stone 1, Savannah Stout 5.
Heber Springs junior Jaylea Hooten battles for position early in the first quarter against Newport Monday night at the Panther Den. Hooten finished with 35 points in the win. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
HEBER SPRINGS – Raigan Head won the scoring battle, but Jaylee Hooten’s team won the game as Heber Springs downed Newport, 59-44, Monday night in senior girls action at the Panther Den.
The two juniors combined to score 71 of the game’s 103 points with Head leading the way with 36 points followed by Hooten with 35.
It would be near the end of the third quarter before another Greyhound scored a point besides Head, a transfer from Tuckerman.
“I had some kids try to guard her so I could hide Jaylea,” first-year Heber Springs coach Spencer Gay said. “I didn’t want Jaylea to pick-up some silly fouls. When I had to put some smaller kids on her, she kind of took over.
“I am used to collapsing, and not letting one kid beat us, but I haven’t had a chance to instill that in these girls. So we’ve got some work to do, but man, she is hard to stop.”
While the duo was busy scoring points, it was Hooten who was getting more help from her teammates.
A Hope Turney field goal with 3:06 left in the first quarter help capped a 6-0 run to give Heber Springs an 8-2 advantage. The junior would later add a 3-pointer with five seconds left in the quarter to finish off another 12-3 run to give the Panthers a 20-7 lead after the first quarter.
Heber Springs seemed to be in control at that point, but cooled off in the second quarter, allowing Newport (0-1) to close the gap to 10 points at the half, 26-16.
“We started off hot, but we cooled off,” Gay said. “The shots weren’t falling, but we still took any shot we could get instead of waiting for the right shot.”
Baskets by sophomores Savannah Stout and Addison Hudspeth pushed the Panthers advantage back to 14 at 30-16 with 6:58 to play in the third quarter, but the Greyhounds were able to get within 10 late in the quarter at 36-26.
Heber Springs would go on 6-0 run to start the fourth, but the Panthers couldn’t stop Head as she scored seven straight to make it a 46-35 contest with 5:53 left.
A 3-pointer by Olivia Norton and a Hooten field goal with 5:04 to play expanded the Heber Springs advantage and Newport would not get any closer.
Hooten scored 20 of her 35 points in the second half and was a perfect eight-of-eight from the free-throw line over that period — she was 13-of-15 from the line on the night.
“Jaylea sees everything as a blur,” Gay said. “She is so fast.”
It had a been a week since the Panthers opened their season with a win over Mount St. Mary.
“I did see some things we improved on,” Gay said, “but some things are still bothering me. Our transition offense is still an enigma. It still difficult to figure out for us. We just try to get going so fast.”
Heber Springs will get a chance to improve on that Thursday night when they travel to Bald Knob (1-1) for the first road game of the season.
“They have an athlete and a good shooter,” Gay said. “So they have two kids that I am going to have to worry about. We saw them this summer. We are going to see the 2-3 zone and they are going to press us, so we are going to have to be ready.”
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