Van Buren seniors relish late-season burst

Rylee Ryan emerges from the team’s locker room. A colorful portrait of former players adorns the wall, players with whom Ryan and her teammates now share a place in history. The current cast of Van Buren players, set for this week’s 6A state tournament at Bentonville West High School, aren’t yet being talked about in past tense. But the team’s chemistry is as good as ever. “We all get along really well together,” senior Olivia Schnakenberg said. “We’ve all played together since elementary school and middle school. But I’m really thankful for the friendships I’ve made on this team. “We celebrate each other. It’s not about me, it’s about us, and I think that’s what makes this team so good.” “We’ve had some great players come through here. They’ve done stuff that’s made our program look really good,” Ryan said. “We just want to keep on making it even better.” It’s not how you start the season, but how you end. And the way things are going, the end isn’t anywhere on the horizon. Coach Chris Bryant’s Van Buren Lady Pointers, once scuffling along in the 6A-West, their playoff lives on life support, found another gear when it mattered most. Today, the red-hot Lady Pointers (15-12) travel to Centerton to play the Bryant Lady Hornets at 1 p.m. in the first round of the 6A state tournament. Van Buren has won five in a row. There is a presence surrounding a group of seniors who battled their way to an 8-6 conference record. A blend of good play and solid chemistry have been a key, even before the team’s recent hot streak. “We’ve been playing together for a really long time,” Ryan said. “We have really good chemistry.” Evans, whose inside play and ability to run the court, has been critical to Van Buren’s late-season run, likes the vibe from within the locker room. “I’ve known them forever; some of us go back to first grade playing together,” she said. “We have great chemistry. We’ve known each other, we’ve been around each other, so preparing for state, not that it’s easy or anything, but we’re clicking. We practice well together and work to get better.” “I grew up playing with these girls; they’re my best friends,” senior Mikell Porter said. “I love playing with them; I couldn’t imagine playing on any other team.” Van Buren got a glimpse into the future in last week’s come-from-behind win over Springdale, overcoming a 12-point deficit and scoring a 42-40 win thanks to some late heroics from freshman Brooklyn Kannady. “This is the time of year some teams peak, and some teams get kinda low,” Porter said. “Our chemistry has really helped us peak at this time.” “We found something and it’s worked, so we’ve stayed with it,” senior Alexis Trentham said. “We’ve just done great.” Since being blown out at Bentonville nearly a month ago, the Lady Pointers have outscored their last five opponents by a combined 73 points. The winning streak started, innocently enough, started with a 59-53 win over Fayetteville, who until the team’s Feb. 8 encounter with Van Buren hadn’t lost a league game in nearly five years. “I think it’s the realization kicking in, that these are our last few games,” Evans said. “The Fayetteville game, we’re on our home court, and we just wanted it. We were like, ‘You’re not going to beat us on our home court.’ “It’s the realization that’s it’s (season) almost over, so let’s be be best team we can be.” “These girls mean everything to me,” Trentham added. “We’ve all grown up playing with each other, rooting for each other. We’ve gone through some hard times, too. “But it’s also been really good.”

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Van Buren High School Athletics

VAN BUREN SENIORS RELISH LATE-SEASON BURST

KEVIN TAYLOR

Times Record | 2/27/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian D. Sanderford