FAYETTEVILLE -- Fayetteville didn't make earning another impressive home win easy on itself Friday night.
The Lady Bulldogs' struggles at the free-throw line for most of the night kept them from putting Springdale High away. But sophomore Kylee Coulter stepped up and knocked down foul shots when they counted.
How They Scored
Girls
Fayetteville 51, Springdale High 44
Springdale^—^9^12^12^11^—^44
Fayetteville^—^18^11^9^13^—^51
Springdale (10-6, 1-2): Lang 9, Pe. Brown 9, Goodsell 8, Mack 6, Daniels 5, Owens 5, Pr. Brown 2.
Fayetteville (11-5, 3-0): Crockett 15, Coulter 8, Mayberry 7, Morgan 7, Schuldt 5, P. Jones 4, B. Jones 3, Holmes 2.
Boys
Springdale High 50, Fayetteville 48
Springdale^—^12^10^16^12^—^50
Fayetteville^—^13^13^12^10^—^48
Springdale (7-8, 2-1): Owens 19, Gause 14, Mahar 8, Gause 6, Bobo 2, Keeling 1.
Fayetteville (14-2, 2-1): Willis 14, O’Grady 10, Wymer 6, Scott 6, Paslay 6, Brown 3, Carlson 3.
Coulter made all four of her free throws in the final 80 seconds to help Fayetteville hold off Springdale for a 51-44 win to remain unbeaten in 7A-West play.
Fayetteville (11-5, 3-0) was just 12 of 25 prior to Coulter and Pink Jones knocking down five of six to seal another solid home victory a week after beating preseason conference favorite Fort Smith Northside.
"We made just enough," Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer said. "We got to the point where it was almost comical how many free throws we missed tonight."
Sydney Crockett scored a game-high 15 to lead Fayetteville, which was able to survive the poor foul shooting thanks to a red-hot start.
Fayetteville jumped out to a big early lead in the opening minutes that proved to be insurmountable. Springdale didn't score until midway through the first quarter as Fayetteville forced turnovers and knocked down shots to build a 13-1 lead it wouldn't relinquish.
"We played with good tempo tonight and only had 10 turnovers," Rimmer said. "We're beginning to turn that corner where we're more efficient. We're running fast, getting down the floor, but we're more efficient and getting better looks."
Springdale's post players helped keep it in the game. Sophomore Peanut Brown had nine points and eight rebounds as the Lady Red'Dogs outrebounded Fayetteville 41-33. Springdale was able to cut the deficit to two early in the third quarter, but couldn't rally.
"Fayetteville came down and hit a couple deep shots," Springdale coach Heather Hunsucker said. "But that was our game plan, force the deep shot. And we couldn't get anything to fall to get the energy picked up on defense."
Boys
Springdale 50, Fayetteville 48
Chris Owens and Tyler Tutt combined for 22 of their 33 points in the second half as Springdale High rallied for a 50-48 road victory over a Fayetteville team that entered the night unbeaten in league play.
Springdale (7-8, 1-2 7A-West) bounced back after losing a lead late at crosstown rival Springdale Har-Ber on Tuesday.
Owens scored a game-high 19 points and took over for stretches as the Bulldogs rallied. He knocked down a deep, 35-foot 3-pointer late in third quarter to tie the game and backed it up with the go-ahead bucket and several other key plays in the fourth. Tutt knocked down several big 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. The senior trio of Owens, Tutt and TreShawn Gause scored 39 of Springdale's 50.
"At halftime, I challenged those three seniors," Springdale coach Brad Stamps said. "I said, 'You've been here before. Your legacy is how you're going to respond after Tuesday and lead in the second half.'"
And they came through.
Fayetteville (14-2, 2-1) had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but Spencer Brown's shot didn't drop. Junior Payton Willis led the Purple'Dogs with 14 points.
Reach Jimmy Carter by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAJimmy.
Sports on 01/17/2015