BENTONVILLE — Hours after a victory against Springdale Har-Ber and before the sun came up, Rogers High girls basketball coach Preston Early had the Lady Mounties practicing Friday morning.
Early scheduled practice for 6 a.m., but the team was ready to go 20 minutes early.
The early morning enthusiasm and intensity carried over Friday night as Rogers jumped on Bentonville early and often as the Lady Mounties cruised to an easy 44-24 victory in 7A-West Conference action.
“We came in at 6 a.m. to get ready for Bentonville, and we had tremendous focus,” Early said. “You could tell that this game was important to them. We had a good workout and we saw the results of that against Bentonville. Our kids have a lot of pride.”
The victory gives Rogers (20-7, 8-6) the No. 3 seed from the West at next week’s Class 7A State Tournament and marked its fifth victory in the past eight days.
Like the previous four wins, balanced scoring and defensive intensity had Rogers peaking at the right time. The Lady Mounties led 9-2 going to the second quarter, but made three 3-pointers and 7 of 9 shots for a 27-8 halftime lead.
Rogers sophomore Taylor Strickland led a balanced scoring attack with 12 points, and all five Lady Mounties starters finished with at least six points.
“Our kids have rose to the moment,” Early said. “We are playing like we are capable of playing. We wanted to come over here and compete for 32 minutes, and we did that. Once you have that confidence back, the sky is the limit.”
Bentonville’s 24 points was its lowest output of the season as the Lady Tigers (16-11, 4-9) were 10 of 45 from the floor. They missed their first 17 3-point attempts and finished with just one 3-pointer.
“We struggled,” Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said. “We have one more game to try and turn our season around. But if we don’t have kids stepping up and competing, it doesn’t matter. We have to find kids that can compete for four quarters.”
Bentonville, which also qualified for the state tournament, ends the regular season tonight when Rogers Heritage visits. The girls game will start at 6 p.m. with the varsity boys to follow.
Girls Prep Basketball
7A-West Conference
ROGERS HIGH 44, BENTONVILLE 24
Rogers 9 18 11 6 — 44
Bentonville 2 6 10 6 — 24
Rogers (20-7, 8-6): Strickland 12, Wilkerson 9, Fusillo 8, Groves 7, Scott 6, Gregory 2.
Bentonville (16-11, 4-9): Lewis 8, Murch 5, Lee 4, Morton 3, Sandmann 2, Walker 2.