BENTONVILLE — Calli Berna got some help from her Fayetteville teammates Friday night, but she didn’t need much.
The Arkansas signee outscored Bentonville 22-18 in the first half and helped the Lady Purple’Dogs roll to a 53-28 victory over the Lady Tigers in 7A-West Conference girls play in Tiger Arena.
“I’ve run out of things to say about her,” Fayetteville coach Bobby Smith said. “She just had a remarkable game and got us off to a great start. She has that gift of good judgment on whether to shoot the ball or pass it off.”
Berna was the main cog as Fayetteville (24-2, 10-1) went on a 12-2 run to start the second quarter. She scored all but two points during the outburst as the Lady Purple’Dogs stretched a 15-9 first-quarter lead into a 27-11 cushion with 4 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the first half.
“I can’t take credit for it all,” Berna said. “My teammates were out there getting the steals and working hard on defense. It was our defense that was creating the offense.”
Bentonville (16-8, 4-6) never found an answer for Fayetteville’s pressure, despite going with a more guard-oriented lineup. The Lady Tigers never got closer than 27-17 on Taylor Lee’s two free throws at the 2:25 mark.
“Fayetteville’s pressure was good,” Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier. “But I was disappointed in our point guard play (Friday night) and the lack of ability to take care of the basketball.
“Our guards are better than that. They’ve been there before, and they’ll bounce back. We just couldn’t get into a rhythm because of the unforced errors, which resulted in layups.”
Berna’s last two points came to start the second half, but the Lady Purple’Dogs were far from being finished. Fayetteville outscored Bentonville 17-4 in the third quarter for a 48-22 cushion, and Hailey Young’s basket with 6:26 remaining forced the mercy rule into play.
Sydney Conley was the only other Fayetteville player in double figures with 10 points. Whitney Sandmann led Bentonville with nine points.
Fayetteville won the junior varsity girls game, 53-38.
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
7A-WEST CONFERENCE
FAYETTEVILLE 53, BENTONVILLE 28
Fayetteville 15 16 17 5 — 53
Bentonville 9 9 4 6 — 28
Fayetteville (24-2, 10-1): Berna 24, Conley 10, Breden 4, Clay 3, Matlock 3, Childers 2, McHenry 2, Young 2, Early 2, Smith 1.
Bentonville (16-8, 4-6): Sandmann 9, Lewis 5, Mabeus 4, Lee 4, Maas 3, Lee 3.