Lady Purple'Dogs Pull Away In Second Half

ROGERS -- Jaylah Prude made Fayetteville's first field goal of the fourth quarter with 1 minute, 27 seconds left in the game, but it didn't matter.

The Lady Bulldogs limited Rogers Heritage to just four points over the final 14 minutes to pull away for a 41-24 win in the 7A/6A-West Conference girls basketball opener for both teams Friday night.

Both coaches agreed Fayetteville (8-4, 1-0) used its superior depth and quickness to turn a tight game into a blowout as Heritage turnovers turned into Lady Purple'Dogs points in the final two quarters.

Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer especially saw his kids react after Heritage took what would be its last lead of the game.

Heritage (4-7, 0-1) led 20-17 on Sara Giesen's 3-pointer from the corner with 6:20 left in the third quarter, but the Lady War Eagles managed just four points -- one field goal -- the rest of the game. Fayetteville outscored Heritage 24-4 the rest of the way.

"I saw something out of my kids I haven't seen in a while," Rimmer said. "When they made that three, it made them a little angry and they really buckled down. I think I played 10 or 11 kids tonight, and all of them played great on the defensive end."

"This was a great win, a great team win for us."

It wasn't all good news for Fayetteville though as sophomore Dashundra Morgan, who led all scorers with 13 points, went down with a knee injury late in the third quarter.

"Her knee buckled, but I don't know what it's going to be," Rimmer said. "Now days, you think the worst. But she's a fun kid we're praying she'll be back with us as soon as she can.'

Heritage coach Kevin Ramey said Fayetteville executed much better in the second half.

"In the first half, none of our miscues led to points," Ramey said. "In the second half, it seemed like all of our miscues led to points. Credit goes to them. Early we did a good job of making it five-on-five situations. But in the second half, they got three-on-ones and two-on-ones."

Fayetteville won the junior varsity game 30-24.

NW News on 01/11/2014

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