By GRAHAM POWELL
Special to The Leader
Through all four quarters Friday night, Beebe and Sylvan Hills struggled with turnovers. Despite a late effort from the Lady Bears, the Lady Badgers’ Kalela Miller kept making play after play when her team needed it the most.
Miller, a sophomore guard, scored 12 of her 22 points in the second half to lead the Lady Badgers to a 61-48 win over Sylvan Hills in the seventh place game of the Heavenly Hoops Classic held at Mount St. Mary’s Academy.
“It was a little sloppy,” said Beebe head coach Greg Richey about the game, “but it’s a win. That’s what’s important right now. We were just trying to get us a win here, but we had some kids do some good things.”
The final score made the game look a lot closer than it really was. Sylvan Hills held a 10-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Beebe came out strong in the second, outscoring the Lady Bears 20-8 to take a 28-18 lead going into the half.
Beebe’s junior point guard Jamie Jackson scored 12 points in the first half, with the majority of those points coming in the second quarter to help give the Lady Badgers a boost offensively.
“She’s been a good player for us,” Richey said of Jackson. “She’s had a double-double in every game we’ve played this year.”
Jackson didn’t get her usual double-double, likely due to her fouling out early in the fourth quarter. She still managed to finish the game with 20 points.
Beebe dominated the third quarter much like they did the second, outscoring the Lady Bears 20-11, giving the Lady Badgers a comfortable 48-29 lead going into the fourth.
“The last two games we played I was very proud of our efforts,” said Sylvan Hills head coach Shelley Davis about her team’s play. “I thought we played very hard and made good strides and learned some things. Tonight, a totally different team.
“I didn’t feel like our enthusiasm was there. I didn’t feel like the energy was there, and we didn’t come out ready. You can’t do that against teams with good athletes like Beebe.”
Despite the Lady Badgers’ comfortable lead going into the fourth quarter, Sylvan Hills came out strong and kept competing. The Lady Bears hit four three pointers in the fourth quarter and outscored the Lady Badgers 19-13.
Even though the Lady Bears didn’t quit, many of the team’s points came late with Beebe playing it safe.
“I was very pleased up until tonight,” Davis said, “I thought I saw a little bit of spark back in us in the fourth quarter. It was just disoriented at times, very sloppy, and no emotion whatsoever. They play hard and they play with a lot of emotion, so that’s what was frustrating watching them. I didn’t feel like we were mentally ready.”
Senior point guard Kashima Wright, and junior guard Naomi Gregory led the Lady Bears’ late scoring run. Gregory led the Lady Bears with 15 points, while also adding 2 rebounds, 1 block and 3 steals.
Wright finished the game with 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Wright and Gregory hit three of the team’s four three pointers at the end of the game.
Even though Beebe got the win, the Lady Badgers had more turnovers, 19, than the Lady Bears’ 15. Davis is disappointed with the loss, but believes her team will be better the next time they play.
“We played two great games Monday and Wednesday,” Davis said, “and we come in tonight and I was just disappointed. We could’ve beat them, but we get another shot at them next week.”
