Bentonville's 21-point run vital in win over Greenwood

In this Feb. 2019 file photo, Tom Halbmaier, Bentonville head coach, takes a timeout with the team during a game against Springdale in Bentonville's Tiger Arena.
In this Feb. 2019 file photo, Tom Halbmaier, Bentonville head coach, takes a timeout with the team during a game against Springdale in Bentonville's Tiger Arena.

BENTONVILLE -- Tom Halbmaier expected to see a little rust Thursday night, especially since it had been a while since Bentonville High's girls had played their first basketball game.

The Lady Tigers fell behind early before they scored 21 unanswered points and went on to post a 64-57 victory over Greenwood during nonconference action in Tiger Arena.

"I told our girls we had two weeks between our first game and our second game," Halbmaier said. "I kind of felt like this was our second first game because we had such a long layoff.

"The first quarter, we were rusty, and I give Greenwood the credit. They were aggressive and caused turnovers, and that created extra opportunities for them. Once the team settled down and figured things out, we started hitting some shots and got a little confidence."

Greenwood (4-1) scored eight straight points for an 11-4 lead midway through the first quarter, and Ally Sockey's bucket extended it to a 17-8 margin with 1 minute, 19 seconds left in the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs, however, didn't score another point until Jaelin Glass' bucket with 2:21 before halftime.

Bentonville used that dry spell to score seven straight points and pull within 17-16 to end the first quarter, then Jada Brown's layup 14 seconds into the second quarter put the Lady Tigers (2-0) ahead to stay. Maryam Dauda then capped the 21-point run with seven unanswered points and gave Bentonville a 30-17 cushion.

"For half of the first quarter and pretty well the whole second quarter, we just couldn't hit a shot," Greenwood coach Clay Reeves said. "We were getting really, really great shots and just couldn't hit them. Then for a little while, with our offense not hitting, it affected our defense a little bit."

Greenwood pulled within 41-35 on Kinley Fisher's bucket with 3:21 left in the third quarter, but Bentonville countered with a 16-2 run and took its biggest lead, 57-37, on Riley Hayes' bucket with 3:17 remaining. Greenwood, however, made things interesting at the end by pulling within 62-57 on Haven Clements' bucket with 21 seconds left Bentonville added two Natalie Smith free throws.

Dauda finished with 18 points to lead four Lady Tigers in double figures, followed by Smith with 12, Brown with 11 and Hayes with 10. Fisher had 23 to lead Greenwood, while Glass added 17.

Greenwood^17^8^10^22^--^57

Bentonville^16^19^10^19^--^64

Greenwood (4-1): Fisher 23, Glass 17, Sockey 7, Clements 6, Goodwin 6.

Bentonville (2-0): Dauda 18, Smith 12, Brown 11, Hayes 10, Irlenborn 6, Kultgen 5, Baker 2.

Boys

Bentonville 41, Greenwood 32

Bentonville outscored Greenwood 17-8 after the Bulldogs had pulled into a 24-24 tie midway through the third quarter.

The Tigers (2-1) scored the first 11 points and owned a 19-6 cushion after one quarter, but the Bulldogs (1-5) made it a 22-17 game at halftime before eventually tying the game. Bentonville bounced back to take a 30-27 lead into the fourth quarter.

Colton Simmons had 18 points to lead the Tigers, who were playing their first full game after losing starter Brayden Freeman in Tuesday's loss at Farmington, while Hayden Shanks chipped in 12. Caleb Ligon had 10 points to pace Greenwood.

Greenwood^6^11^10^5^--^32

Bentonville^19^3^8^11^--^41

Greenwood (1-5): Ligon 10, Lensing 8, Garnes 7, Forbus 4, Hesslen 3.

Bentonville (2-1): Simmons 18, Shanks 12, Price 6, Spencer 5.

Preps Sports on 12/06/2019

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