When junior forward Tayleah Neal slammed the ball on Springdale’s senior guard Sierra Dickard, it also slammed the door the Lady Bulldogs (5-11, 0-2) chances of getting a conference win over the Lady Wildcats.
“I was a little worried, because I didn’t know how she [Dickard} was going to react on the court from the build up of emotion,” said senior guard, and former teammate Jessica Olsen.
Olsen led the way for the Lady Wildcats (15-3, 2-0) with 19 points and surged Har-Ber all night with an array of starry plays.
With Har-Ber up a reasonable margin in the fourth, Olsen tried a ‘Rajon Rondo ball fake’ that had two Springdale defenders flying. She did miss the fade away jumper, but still left the home crowd in awe.
“My older brother taught it to me, and I told him I would attempt it in a game someday,” said Olsen. “It was fun to try.”
Another senior force for Har-Ber was forward Summer Morgan, who recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
“I felt like I had to go out there and play really hard. We were playing our cross-town rival and we all had to step up and play to the best of our ability,” said Morgan.
And that’s just what she did.
Har-Ber finished off Springdale in a more convincing fashion, than what the scoreboard showed, 61-48.
Junior guard Caylee Wright added 12 points in the contest.