Bentonville’s Fast Start Too Much For Van Buren

— It didn’t take long to discover how Bentonville’s girls would react following their first loss of the season.

The Lady Tigers took out their frustrations on Van Buren with a 14-0 run early in the first quarter, and they coasted from there to a 57-33 victory over the Lady Pointers in the 7A/6A-West Conference basketball opener for both teams in Tiger Arena.

“They were more angry, more so than feeling sorry for themselves,” Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said of his team’s demeanor days after its loss to Webb City, Mo., in the Neosho Holiday Classic. “They wanted to come out and set the tone quick.

“Our girls did a great job of running in transition. We were sloppy in some areas, but we had so many opportunities. These kids right here — they’re going to keep playing and grinding it out and fighting.”

It was all Bentonville (13-1, 1-0) after Kaylee Shepherd’s 3-pointer gave Van Buren (4-7, 0-1) the first points. Taylor Lee answered with the first of four 3-pointers, and she had seven points in the Lady Tigers’ initial run before the Lady Pointers scored again midway in the second quarter.

The senior guard, who had enjoyed double-digit scoring in all of Bentonville’s first 13 games, needed only 10 minutes to continue that string. Her second 3-pointer gave the Lady Tigers a 21-10 lead with 6 minutes, 4 seconds left in the first half, and she hit two more from beyond the arc to make it a 31-17 halftime cushion.

Van Buren never threatened again, even as Lee cooled off with her scoring in the second half. Julia Garrard picked up some of the slack, scoring nine of her 11 points in the second half as Bentonville’s lead continued to grow.

“I thought we did a better job under the basket,” Halbmaier said. “We did much better at sharing the ball, getting more people involved in the offense. On every possession, we tried to get two or three girls involved.”

BENTONVILLE 57, VAN BUREN 33

Van Buren 6 11 8 8 — 33

Bentonville 18 13 13 13 — 57

Van Buren (4-7, 0-1): Santillana 9, Sheppard 7, Faucher 7, Glassco 6, Johnson 2, Outlaw 2.

Bentonville (13-1, 1-0): Lee 20, Garrard 11, Coleman 8, Mabeus 4, Potts 4, Byford 4, Secrest 4, Martin 2.

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