Sara Bershers vividly remembers going to Hot Springs with her father Mike to watch the state championship basketball games.

“Ever since I was little, I remember me and my dad would go up there and watch all of the games,” Bershers said. “Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we would go watch every one of them.

“And last year I remember every time somebody would win, I would get this feeling, like I just felt chills and I would just be like, ‘I feel like we’re going to be there next year.’”

Bershers’ feeling turned out to be correct, as the Northside senior forward will take the court at Bank OZK Arena on Friday determined to lead the Lady Bears (27-1) to their seventh state title since 1999 when they face Bentonville for the 6A championship.

But it’s also familiar territory to Bershers for another reason. She’s originally from the Hot Springs area, having began her high school career at nearby Lake Hamilton before transferring to Northside prior to her junior season when her mother Angela accepted a job in Fort Smith teaching kindergarten at Carnall Elementary School.

“I’m excited to go home and play in front of everybody; it’s good to go back and see everybody and have fun,” Sara Bershers said.

“We have worked extremely hard since before August for this moment and I think that we’re ready, I think that we’ve just got to put it all together. I don’t think we’ve played a perfect game all season, and so I mean we’re kind of due for four quarters instead of three or three-and-a-half, so I think we’ll be ready.”

Bershers has also gotten acclimated to life as a Lady Bear.

Although she put up good numbers as a junior, averaging 13.8 points and 6.2 rebounds, it took Bershers a good while to adjust to the style of Northside coach Rickey Smith.


“I think, individually, I have gotten better,” Bershers said. “I think I’ve been more confident, especially shooting, but I think it comes with me being here for another year. ... I think I’ve grown as a player maturity-wise and have just gotten better.”

Although Bershers hasn’t quite matched her point total from last season, averaging 11.9 points her senior season, she is still finding ways to get points, scoring in double figures 19 times.

Last weekend, Bershers might have put together her most memorable game as a Lady Bear, scoring a season-high 20 points in Northside’s epic 64-62 double-overtime win against Fayetteville in the 6A semifinals.

She hit three 3-pointers in the second half to help the Lady Bears rally from an 11-point deficit, including a 3 inside the final minute of regulation which tied the score at 45-all, eventually sending the game into overtime.

“There’s not a whole lot you can say or do,” Smith said. “Sara has proven time and again that she’s a clutch player.


“Sara’s played a lot more consistent this season, just competing at this level and being in the program and understanding the expectations. She’s made everyone around her a little bit better, as they do for her also.”

Bershers can dazzle fans with her ability to work inside, shooting long-distance 3's or even delivering no-look passes from time to time. But she made it a point to get better on the defensive end entering her senior year.


“I think my defense has gotten a lot better,” Bershers said. “That kind of sounds crazy because I foul out almost every day, but I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better at it because I feel like most of the time, whenever I do help, I’m trying not to foul.

“Especially here the past few games, I’ve only came out with like three fouls so that’s really good for me because I usually have gotten five, so I think my defense has improved a little bit.”

But Bershers has continually been able to refine her game over the years, even before her high school career. She learned not only basketball but also the conditioning aspect of it from her father.

“I remember times when I didn’t want to go to the gym and my dad would just drag me to the gym,” Sara Bershers said. “He was also our pee-wee coach and we would just run so, so much, and now I kind of look back and I’m like, wow, I’m really appreciative of that because that’s gotten me to where I am now.

“As much as I hated running those bleachers and everything, it was all worth it to be here.”

It’s also translated to the next level as Bershers, a 4.0 student, has signed to play basketball at Division I University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley.

Friday’s game will be special to her for another reason. It is likely the last time she will get to play with her younger sister Tracey, a starting sophomore forward for the Lady Bears.


“I could potentially play with her again, but that’s probably a longshot,” Sara Bershers said. “But it’s going to be crazy to think that Friday’s going to be the last game in a Lady Bear uniform and it’s going to be very, very bittersweet for sure.”

To end her Northside career in a familiar environment with a state championship, Bershers said it will take her and her teammates to go back to playing loose and relaxed.

“We’ve just got to come play and we’ve got to come play loose,” she said. “We did not play loose when we played Fayetteville and I think if we just play our game, I feel like that’s all we need to do to win.”
