Bentonville Basketball Squads Enjoy Growth In Summer

— Three team camps this summer gave Bentonville High basketball coaches Tom Halbmaier and Jason McMahan a pretty good idea of what they have to work with this upcoming season.

But there’s still work to be done before the new season starts in November.

“Overall, I thought we played well (this summer),” said Halbmaier, who enters his 10th season with the Lady Tigers. “I’m excited about this squad. Their work ethic is fantastic and they’re very coachable. They will get better and better offensively. Defensively and athletically, we’re pretty solid.”

The Lady Tigers, who finished 15-14 last year after a first-round loss at the Class 7A State Tournament, lost just two games during team camps at Harding University, Webb City, Mo., and Branson, Mo.

“I was really pleased with the level of effort they played at consistently throughout the camps,” Halbmaier said. “I feel like we locked down a lot of good teams (defensively).”

The Lady Tigers faced three defending state champs during an undefeated run at the Harding camp.

Montana Lewis, who led the Lady Tigers with 12.4 points and 7.3 rebounds as a junior last season, was offered a scholarship by the Harding staff while there.

“Offensively, I thought we had a good balance throughout the whole summer,” Halbmaier said. “Montana, she led the way.

“She has taken the leadership in that area. She’s aggressive with the basketball. This year knows she’s expected to score and expected to lead. She’s really taken on that responsibility.”

Halbmaier was also impressed with the play of junior Whitney Sandmann and sophomores Brooke Mabeus and Taylor Lee, who stepped in when some varsity players couldn’t attend the Harding University camp.

McMahan enters his second season at Bentonville with some height but is still waiting for his team to find some consistency.

The Tigers have three players at 6-foot-5 or taller — seniors Austin Molitor and Jonathan Roy and sophomore Nick Smith — but not a lot of experience.

Juniors Mytaah Crawford and Mason Snow, senior Will Worthey and Molitor return with the most varsity experience after the Tigers graduated four from an 8-20 season. The Tigers had “sporadic moments” during camps at Mississippi and Arkansas and a summer league at Bentonville.

“That’s probably a sign of the immaturity of our team,” McMahan said. “We would play a team I thought we should beat and we would lose. And then we would play a team no one would think we would beat and we would end up losing by one or something like that.

“I think we showed the signs of when we buckle down and concentrate, we can play with anybody.”

McMahan was impressed with the play of junior Corbin Copeland at the Ole Miss camp.

“He showed he could compete at a high level,” McMahan said. “He has an extra gear in his motor. He can do a little bit of everything for us.”

McMahan’s team participated in skill development practices as players went through the weight room and position-specific workouts.

“That’s what I liked the best this summer,” McMahan said. “It put an emphasis on continuing to develop the strengths you have that can contribute to the team. It was really good for those guys.”

Upcoming Events