Lady Bulldogs Stumble In Loss

left, attempts to score past Conway sophomore forward Christin Rogers during
Fayetteville’s Caylea Moore,
Tuesday’s game at Fayetteville High.
left, attempts to score past Conway sophomore forward Christin Rogers during Fayetteville’s Caylea Moore, Tuesday’s game at Fayetteville High.

— Fayetteville girls basketball coach Vic Rimmer stood on the sidelines Tuesday and watched as things unraveled against Conway’s run-and-gun offense.

The Lady Wampus Cats forced turnovers, converted fast-break opportunities and found their long-range shooting in the second quarter. All of a sudden, Fayetteville saw a close game quickly turn into a 22-point halftime deficit.

The Lady Bulldogs (0-2) couldn’t recover, especially against an athletic Conway team that pushed the pace and didn’t slow down until it had closed out an 85-63 win in Bulldog Arena.

“The second quarter was really bad for us, and we had a bad quarter against (Fort Smith) Northside the other night,” Rimmer said. “That second quarter was a bad quarter for us. We’ve got to manage better, I suppose.”

Enjonae Chambers drained three 3-pointers during a second quarter that saw Conway (4-1) outscore Fayetteville 31-16 to take control for good. The Lady Wampus Cats used their pressure defense to force turnovers and turn a 25-18 lead at the end of the first quarter into a 56-35 halftime advantage.

Chambers finished with a game-high 26 points, and Kianna Speight, Jordan Danberry Claire Hobbs added 19 each as Conway extended its lead to 25 in the second half. There wasn’t much Fayetteville could do to mount a comeback despite three players scoring in double figures, including a team-high 16 from forward Vanessa Matlock.

“We’re run and gun obviously, and our goal is kind of to run the other team down and get them a little weary,” Conway coach Ashley Nance said. “And I thought we did a good job of that.”

Aubrey Edie scored 12 points and Jaylah Prude added 11, but the Lady Bulldogs were flustered by Conway’s aggressive defense into committing too many turnovers that led to easy transition baskets for the Lady Wampus Cats.

“We turn the ball over, and they transition well,” Rimmer said. “We actually even made a couple of buckets in the second quarter, and they transition and score, pressed us and turned it over.”

CONWAY 85, FAYETTEVILLE 63

Conway 25 31 17 12 — 85

Fayetteville 18 16 17 12 — 63

Conway (4-1): Chambers 26, Speight 19, Hobbs 19, Danberry 19, Wilkins 2.

Fayetteville (0-2): Matlock 16, Edie 12, Prude 11, Brewer 7, Howard 4, Schuldt 4, Ca. Moore 3, Allen 2, De. White 2, Crockett 2.

Boys

FAYETTEVILLE 73, CONWAY 37

Tyler McCullough showed he could be a force in the paint when he gets the ball, and Jawan Smith left no doubt that he’s capable of finding his shot in a hurry.

Smith scored 12 of his game-high 19 points in the third quarter, including back-to-back 3-pointers that helped Fayetteville (4-1) take a 64-33 heading into the fourth quarter.

McCullough added 15 points and Manuale Watkins finished with 16, giving the Bulldogs enough offense early on to get the mercy rule to go into effect against Conway (1-1).

“Once we settled in and started hitting some jump shots, I thought that was a key for us,” Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams said. “Jawan came out smoking hot. What really pleased me was us looking for Tyler inside.

“We always talk about that, and that’s where our offense needs to start is inside out.”

Tim Boyd was the only Conway player to score in double figures with 11 points.

FAYETTEVILLE 73, CONWAY 37

Conway 13 10 10 4 — 37

Fayetteville 22 20 22 9 — 73

Conway (1-1): Boyd 11, Leon 8, Moore 6, Thompson 4, Taylor 3, Grubbs 3, Criswell 2.

Fayetteville (4-1): Smith 19, Watkins 16, McCullough 15, Waitsman 6, Paschke 4, Gooderl 3, Boyd 3, Maurer 2, Conley 2, Cozart 2, Williamson 1.

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