NEOSHO, Mo. — Defense and perimeter shooting has taken Bentonville’s girls basketball team one step closer to a third straight Neosho Holiday Classic championship.
The Lady Tigers forced Pierce City, Mo., into 23 turnovers and hit a quartet of 3-pointers in the third quarter en route to a 51-30 victory over the Lady Eagles to close out pool play Friday night.
Bentonville hit 9 of 21 attempts from 3-point range, including a 5-for-10 outing in the second half as the Lady Tigers (12-0) put the game away.
“The main story was our ability to create turnovers and our perimeter shooting,” Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said. “Pierce City did a lot of good things early in the game, but our defense was able to create the turnovers.
“We also shot very well from the perimeter, and we had 14 assists out of 18 field goals, which is very good for a high school team. I was really pleased with that.”
Bentonville blew the game open in the third quarter when it outscored Pierce City by a 19-9 margin and extended its lead to a 44-21 margin. The Lady Tigers were 4-of-6 from 3-point range during the quarter, with Kindal Coleman hitting two while Taylor Lee and Rashaun Casey hit one apiece.
“Taylor Lee had five assists, and three of them came in the third quarter,” Halbmaier said. “That led to 3-pointers. Our girls got some open looks, and we knocked them down.”
Lee was the only Lady Tiger to finish in double figures with 14 points and added five rebounds with her five assists. Krishna Merriman paced Pierce City with 14 points.
Bentonville will meet Webb City, Mo. (10-2) — a 63-46 winner over Springdale High in an earlier game — in a revised Black Division title game at 5:30 p.m. today. Webb City switched places with Pierce City, which would have had to play Bentonville a second time in as many days under original guidelines.
BENTONVILLE 51, PIERCE CITY, MO. 30
Pierce City 6 8 9 7 — 30
Bentonville 12 13 19 7 — 51
Pierce City: Merriman 14, Hatfield 7, Younker 4, Hayward 3, Ashley 2.
Bentonville (12-0): Lee 14, Mabeus 8, Potts 8, Adkins 6, Coleman 6, Casey 5, Byford 2, Garrard 2.