Lady Tigers’ Pressure Breaks Lady Mustangs

Friday, December 28, 2012

— Stingy. Defiant. Dominant. Overwhelming.

Any of those words could have been a fitting moniker for Bentonville’s girls basketball team om Thursday as the unbeaten Lady Tigers trounced McDonald County, Mo., 56-14, in the second day of pool play action at the Neosho Holiday Classic.

Bentonville (11-0) turned up the defensive pressure and forced 34 turnovers while holding McDonald County (1-8) without a field goal for almost 18 minutes and only five buckets for the entire game.

“Our girls did a good job of getting a lot of deflections, jumping the passes and anticipating,” Lady Tigers coach Tom Halbmaier said. “That disrupted a lot of McDonald County’s offense, and (Preslea Reece) getting in foul trouble really helped us a lot.

“We got some easy buckets in the first half, and once we got that lead we settled down and became more relaxed. I was more pleased with the zone execution of our offense. That was probably the best we’ve executed it all year, and we hit a lot of perimeter shots.”

Reece, who hit McDonald County’s only first-half field goal, was forced to sit with three personal fouls, and that set the stage for Bentonville’s rout. The Lady Tigers led 11-2 after one quarter, then built a 23-1 run around a quartet of 3-pointers for a 34-5 halftime cushion.

The Lady Mustangs didn’t hit another field goal until Reece connected with 4 minutes, 47 seconds left in the third quarter. By that time, Bentonville had run off another 11 points — eight by junior guard Kindal Coleman — for a comfortable 45-5 cushion.

“We just don’t have the depth they do,” McDonald County coach LaDonna McClain said. “And when we get into foul trouble, we’re hurting.

“We’ve already been here and done this before. They put a lot of pressure on you and make you handle the ball. We’re young, and we don’t do those things well — yet.”

Taylor Lee continued her streak of double-digit scoring games with 13 to lead Bentonville, while Coleman finished with 10.

The Lady Tigers conclude their portion of pool play with a 4 p.m. game today against Pierce City, Mo.

BENTONVILLE 56, McDONALD COUNTY, MO. 14

Bentonville 11 23 18 4 — 56

McDonald County 4 1 2 7 — 14

Bentonville (11-0): Lee 13, Coleman 10, Adkins 8, Casey 8, Martin 8, Mabeus 4, Potts 3, Laird 2.

McDonald County (1-8): Reece 8, Nelson 2, Rickman 2, Swink 1, Smith 1.