Fayetteville Turns Up Heat

Lady Bulldogs Take Advantage Of 24 Lady Panther Turnovers

Denesha White of Fayetteville tries to get the ball past Siloam Springs defender Ashlin Stock during Tuesday’s game at Fayetteville.
Denesha White of Fayetteville tries to get the ball past Siloam Springs defender Ashlin Stock during Tuesday’s game at Fayetteville.

— Fayetteville turned up the heat on its pressure defense Tuesday against Siloam Springs.

The Lady Bulldogs forced 24 turnovers and held the Lady Panthers without a field goal from the end of the first quarter to the middle of the third.

During that time, Fayetteville turned an four-point deficit into a 15-point lead, and the Lady Bulldogs went on to a 54-40 7A/6A-West Conference win at Bulldog Arena.

“We’ve been pretty pleased with our defense all year,” Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer said. “I feel like our fullcourt press was good, but we also did a good job in the halfcourt defense.”

Siloam Springs junior Morgan Miller and sophomore Mayse Pippin hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the first quarter to give the Lady Panthers a 16-12 lead with 1 minute, 56 seconds left in the first quarter.

It was the last time the Lady Panthers (8-7, 1-3) scored a field goal until there was 4:18 left in the third when Miller scored in transition.

Fayetteville 54, Siloam Springs 40

Siloam Springs 16 3 7 14 — 40

Fayetteville 17 13 14 10 — 54

Siloam Springs (8-7, 1-3): Morgan Miller 11, Mayse Pippin 11, Krista Lopez 9, Baily Cameron 8, Bailee Owens 1.

Fayetteville (6-11, 2-2): Aubrey Edie 12, Ellie Breden 8, Alexa Howard 8, Jaylah Prude 6, Vanessa Matlock 6, Brittany Austin 5, Lauren Schuldt 3, Deneka White 2, Mollie Brewer 2, Catara Robinson 1, Caylea Moore 1.

By then, the Lady Bulldogs (6-11, 2-2) had a 37-24 lead and were in complete control of the game.

“I thought we had a lot of good offensive possessions, and we didn’t turn the ball over,” Rimmer said.

Fayetteville forced 16 Siloam Springs turnovers in the first half and closed on an 18-3 run to lead 30-19 at halftime.

“I’m not happy with our performance,” Siloam Springs coach Brett Sanders said. “We came out scared. They’re a 7A school. We’re a 6A school. Who cares? We’ve got to play better than that.”

Aubrey Edie had three baskets in that stretch, and Brittany Austin had a three-point play.

Vanessa Matlock opened the second half with an offensive rebound and putback for a 32-19 lead. The lead grew to as high as 44-26 at the end of the third quarter.

Edie scored 12 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs, who had 11 different players score.

Miller and Pippin each had 11 points for the Lady Panthers.

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