NEOSHO, Mo. — Sophomore Niki Wilson was exactly who Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier wanted at the free-throw line to ice the game and send the Lady Tigers into the championship game of the 55th annual Neosho Holiday Classic on Wednesday night.
Wilson had made two free throws seconds earlier, but when she missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to give Purdy (Mo.) a chance, Stephanie Maxwell stepped right up to finish the win off.
Maxwell snatched the offensive rebound, drew a foul and made two free throws with 5.9 seconds remaining to help seal Bentonville’s 45-41 victory in the tournament semifinals at Neosho Middle School.
“That was just a big play for us,” Halbmaier said. “Maxwell got in there and used her quickness, gets fouled and makes two big free throws for us.”
If the situation were to happen again, Halbmaier’s still comfortable giving Wilson another shot.
“She hit two in a pressure situation a few seconds before,” Halbmaier said. “Oh yeah, I’d have no problem if the same thing. I can’t complain.”
Bentonville (9-3) now takes on either Fair Grove (Mo.) or Waynesville (Mo.) in tonight’s title game at 5:30 p.m. at Neosho High.
Halbmaier was especially happy with his team’s effort, coming off a tough overtime win over Seneca (Mo.) on Tuesday.
“Oh, we got back at 1:30 in the morning and to come back and win was something,” Halbmaier said.
The Lady Tigers used a 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter and erase an eight-point deficit, then made key plays down the stretch.
Purdy coach Grant Young said it was a couple of key plays here or there in the fourth quarter that was the difference.
Senior Erin Reardon, who led Bentonville with 14, hit a pair of fourth-quarter 3-pointers, but a three-point play by Montana Lewis gave Bentonville the lead for good with 1:39 left to play.
Lewis was also in double figures for the Lady Tigers with 13.
The Lady Eagles (10-2) missed their first seven floor shots in the fourth quarter and hit just three-of-16 in the quarter — a big turnaround after Purdy made seven of 12 from the floor in the third quarter to build a lead.
“We didn’t get tired legs,” Young said. “We had an eight-point lead going into the fourth quarter and got a little too excited and realized we had eight more minutes to play.”