BENTONVILLE -- It has been two weeks since Bentonville's girls basketball team played its season opener, but that is about to quickly change.
The Lady Tigers will begin a string of seven games in 10 games when they opened the Crabtree Invitational Tournament with a 6 p.m. game today against Russellville in Tiger Arena.
At A Glance
Crabtree Invitational Tournament
at Bentonville
Today’s Games
Bentonville vs. Russellville, 6 p.m.
Pea Ridge vs. Clarksville, 7:30 p.m.
Friday’s Games
Bentonville vs. Clarksville, 6 p.m.
Pea Ridge vs. Russellville, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Clarksville vs. Russellville, noon
Bentonville vs. Pea Ridge, 1:30 p.m.
"That's why the last two or three practices, right off of Thanksgiving, have been a little more spirited," Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said. "Having to gear up for that first game, then having those two weeks off, they tend to come out flat a lot of the time.
"The last couple of days, the girls have done a good job of making sure the games have been competitive. It's one of those deals where they have to keep going, keep working and knowing they're about to play in the Crabtree tournament. With that, the kids have been doing very well and remained focused in that area."
Halbmaier had the team return to practice Sunday after four straight days off for Thanksgiving break. As he expected, the players' timing was a little off, and the practices allowed them to get back into the flow of things.
Most of the practice time since Bentonville (0-1) dropped a 92-89 decision to defending Class 7A state champion Conway has been spent in hopes of adding some depth to the team. The Lady Tigers had four starters fouled out in that overtime game.
"We need to develop some consistency with our bench play -- the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth players," Halbmaier said. "I thought they did a good job in the Conway game emotionally and physically.
"We're trying to get those kids in the sets with the other five players. That's all on me; it's nothing against them. It's a matter of the amount of time and practice it takes to go ahead and get the timing. Each player has her strengths and weaknesses, and sometimes those different lineups present a challenge."
Bentonville will follow tonight's game with a Friday game against Clarksville and a Saturday matchup against Pea Ridge. Each opponent will present a different type of the test that should help the Lady Tigers down the road.
"Russellville was a good team last year, and it will be a good challenge for us this year," Halbmaier said. "They have a post player that is a pretty good athlete, and her size will give us some matchup problems.
"Clarksville will come in with a small, but quick team. They like to shoot the ball and score a lot of points, so they get after it with the transition game. Pea Ridge does it, too. We'll just go in there, and we'll have to be focused from the start."
Sports on 12/04/2014