ROGERS -- Tom Halbmaier said the mood around Bentonville's girls basketball team was "very unpleasant" following its Wednesday loss against Springdale High.
The Lady Tigers feel much better now after taking out their frustrations on Rogers High in a 62-31 victory over the Lady Mounties on Friday in 7A-West Conference action in King Arena.
7A-West Conference
Girls
Bentonville 62, Rogers High 31
Bentonville^19^17^21^5^—^62
Rogers^4^14^9^4^—^31
Bentonville (16-9, 7-5): Martin 20, Brittain 11, Hargus 7, Johnston 6, Murch 6, Clark 5, Taylor 5, Byford 2.
Rogers (8-16, 2-9) King 10, Sagely 7, Brown 6, Richmond 5, Wisdom 1, Turner 1, Repella 1.
Boys
Bentonville 83, Rogers High 47
Bentonville^26^22^24^11^—^83
Rogers^12^13^13^9^—^47
Bentonville (17-6, 11-1): Monk 28, Hemphill 14, Robinson 13, Loy 9, Jones 7, Carter 5, Smith 5, Barnica 2.
Rogers (7-17, 2-9): Freeland 24, Benninghoff 7, Salvador 6, McCullough 3, Kressen 2, Mayer 2, Cooper 2, Black 1.
"It wasn't a pleasant atmosphere to be in," Halbmaier said. "The kids knew it and expected it, and it was like that from top to bottom."
Bentonville's 3-point shooting made a big difference. The Lady Tigers (16-9, 7-5) bounced back from a 5-for-22 outing beyond the arc Wednesday and matched their total in less than 10 minutes en route to an early 29-5 cushion.
Madison Brittain and Jordan Martin each hit a 3-pointer to spark a 10-0 Bentonville run to start the game, and both of them did it again to the start the second quarter. Ashley Murch then hit the Lady Tigers' sixth 3-pointer for a 36-18 halftime cushion.
"When Madison hit that first 3, everybody was relaxed and had a lot of confidence," Halbmaier said. "We were also 6-of-6 at the free-throw line in the first half, and we missed 11 of them Tuesday night -- in our gym. The overall level of focus and competitiveness in practice and the game was huge."
Bentonville then pushed its lead to 57-27 at the end of the third quarter and forced the running clock throughout the fourth quarter.
"Bentonville was great and showed up like a high-level team will," Rogers coach Preston Early said. "I give them all the credit in the world. They dominated us in every phase, and we didn't have any resistance. They were better than us in everything."
Martin finished with 20 and Brittain 11 for Bentonville, whose win coupled with Springdale Har-Ber's overtime loss at Fort Smith Southside moved the Lady Tigers into a tie for third place in the 7A-West standings. Callie King had 10 points for Rogers (8-16, 2-9).
Boys
Bentonville 83, Rogers High 47
Bentonville pulled away from Rogers with a 12-0 run to close out the first quarter, and the Tigers went on to take the victory and clinch the outright 7A-West Conference title.
The outburst helped Bentonville (17-6, 11-1) stretch a four-point lead into a 26-12 cushion to end the first quarter. The Tigers then led 48-25 at halftime and stretched it to 72-38 at the end of the third quarter.
Malik Monk finished with 28 points to lead Bentonville after he and Rogers counterpart Malicio Freeland each hit 20 in the first half. Jordan Hemphill and Tyler Robinson added 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Freeland finished with 24 and was the only player in double figures for Rogers (7-17, 2-9).
Henry Apple can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAHenry
Sports on 02/21/2015