ROGERS --Rogers Heritage went more than six minutes in the first half without a field goal, but the Lady War Eagles turned the tables on Siloam Springs in the second half en route to a 47-34 win in nonconference girls basketball Friday night at War Eagle Arena.
Senior guard Emily Seiler poured in a game-high 22 points and keyed a 17-0 second-half surge to help Heritage (4-5) take control.
Heritage coach Kevin Ramey was pleased with the way his team kept the ball out of the hands of 5-foot-9 Siloam Springs senior Haley Stewart. The Lady War Eagles held Stewart to just five points.
"We didn't want Stewart to touch the ball all night long and that was a big key for us," Ramey said. "We have respect for her. She's a good player and we knew if she had it around the basket all night we'd be in trouble. I thought them not being able to get the ball to Stewart in the second half kind of bothered them."
Siloam Springs coach Tim Rippy said Heritage did a good job defensively on Stewart, but needed other players to step forward.
"They did a good job of helping around her," Rippy said. "When that happens, we've got to have kids step up and make some outside shots. That happened in the second quarter. Morgan had a nice little roll, where she got some shots and we were able to get the lead at halftime, when you convert a few of those. The third and fourth quarter, we sure didn't do that."
Stewart's free throws pulled Siloam Springs (6-3) into a 26-26 tie with 3 minutes, 14 seconds left in the third quarter. The Lady Panthers wouldn't score again until the 6:08 mark of the fourth quarter. By then, Heritage put together a 17-0 spurt to take a 43-26 lead on Seiler's free throw.
Freshman Sydney Kinnamon canned a pair of 3-pointers and Seiler also had six points in the big run.
Amber Turner was also in double figures with 10 for Heritage.
Morgan Vaughan was the lone Lady Panther in double figures with 16, including 11 in the first half. The 5-foot-5 sophomore keyed 13-0 second-quarter run that gave Siloam Springs a 22-13 lead. But Heritage responded with the final six points of the half and trailed only 22-19.
The Lady Panthers return to action next week in the Siloam Springs Holiday Classic. The Lady Panthers will play Coweta, Okla., at 7 p.m. on Dec. 29 in the opening round at the Panther Activity Center.
Rogers Heritage 47, Siloam Springs 34
Siloam Springs 9 13 4 8 -- 34
Rogers Heritage 12 7 18 10 -- 47
Siloam Springs (6-3): Vaughn 16, Stewart 5, Cox 5, Hollenbeck 4, Duffy 2, Hufford 2.
Rogers Heritage (4-5): Seiler 22, Turner 10, Scudder 7, Kinnamon 6, Menke 2.
Siloam Springs 78Tulsa Webster 23
Siloam Springs went into its first home game on Tuesday against Tulsa (Okla.) Daniel Webster not knowing what to expect from its opponent.
The Lady Panthers' coaching staff had been unable to acquire any film on the Lady Warriors in the days leading up to the game.
"We didn't know anything about them going into the game," said head coach Tim Rippy.
So flying blind, the Lady Panthers expected the best from Webster and had two good practices on Monday and Tuesday afternoon prior to the game.
The hard work paid off as Siloam Springs rolled to a mercy-rule win over Webster inside Panther Activity Center.
The Lady Panthers scored the first 11 points of the game and never trailed in the contest.
Senior post Haley Stewart canned a 3-pointer in the far corner for Siloam Springs' first basket of the game, and she would go on to score nine points in the first quarter. Meanwhile sophomore forward Morgan Vaughn scored eight points in the first frame as the Lady Panthers took a 25-6 lead after the first quarter.
"We had a good practice yesterday (Monday), a good practice today with good intensity," Rippy said. "I thought we were ready to play a good game. I was glad to see some good execution early and good intensity on defense."
Siloam Springs went on a 16-0 run that spanned into the second quarter, and the Lady Panthers led 44-13 at halftime. Siloam Springs substituted liberally in the second half and every eligible player scored.
That was significant because the junior varsity game was canceled due to Siloam Springs not having enough players because of injuries to Kenlie Noel and Anna Baccus.
"It's always good to get everybody in and work on some of the things, especially when you don't have a JV game," Rippy said. "Because it's something they don't get to simulate every day in practice and getting to go against live competition is always a benefit."
Vaughn led the Lady Panthers with 17 points, while Stewart and Kirsten Loftis-Williams each had nine. Hadlee Hollenback, Alexis Duffy and Brianna Ponticello each scored eight for Siloam Springs.
Also for Siloam Springs, Gabrielle Hufford scored five, Abby Cox four, Abby Vaughn and Larissa Tillery each with three, and Sidney Henry and Shaylon Sharp each with two.
Shameco Jones scored the first eight points of the game for the Warriors (3-5). She led Webster with 11 points.
Siloam Springs 78, Tulsa Webster 23
Tulsa Webster 6 7 7 3 -- 23
Siloam Springs 25 19 20 14 -- 78
Tulsa Webster (3-5): Jones 11, Ward 5, Cox 4, Favors 3.
Siloam Springs (6-2): M. Vaughn 17, Stewart 9, Loftis-Williams 9, Hollenback 8, Duffy 8, Ponticello 8, Hufford 5, Cox 4, A. Vaughn 3, Tillery 3, Henry 2, Sharp 2.
Sports on 12/20/2015