BENTONVILLE -- It didn't take long after Bentonville's girls basketball team lost to Fort Smith Northside for Deanna Adkins to realize her high school playing days were over.
The senior guard will begin the next quest in her life, and basketball will be included in it. Adkins made sure of that Friday afternoon when she signed a letter of intent with Central Baptist College.
"Everything's hitting me, and it's finally real," Adkins said. "It hit me when the season was over, and now that I've signed, it's all coming real. I'm really excited about it.
"Central Baptist is starting a new team next year, and the coach is looking for a shooting guard. That's been my role all year, and I like the school there. It felt right to go there."
The 5-foot-5 Adkins averaged 7.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per game for the Lady Tigers, who went 19-9 this season and reached the Class 7A State Tournament semifinals before their loss to Northside. She was mainly noted for her perimeter scoring, hitting 46 of 122 (37.7 percent) of her 3-point attempts and 32 of 51 from the free-throw line.
She had the biggest game of her career when she broke her school single-game 3-point shooting record in a Feb. 21 game at Siloam Springs. She hit eight of nine from 3-point range, eclipsing the six she hit in a game last year, and finished with 24 points in Bentonville's 70-64 victory.
"I think this is a great compliment to her character and her work ethic," Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said. "This kid worked hard. She's not going to be the fastest or the tallest, but she's going to be one of the toughest kids on the court.
"Everything she's got up to this point, she worked hard for it. Nothing was given to her. It was pure grit and sweat that got her here, so I'm glad she's able to get a chance to play."
Sports on 03/22/2014