BENTONVILLE -- An influx of younger players has provided Springdale Har-Ber's girls with a breath of fresh air during their second-year under coach Kimberly Jenkins' guidance.
Freshmen or sophomores accounted for 42 points Friday for the Lady Wildcats, who claimed their second victory in the 18th annual Crabtree Invitational with a 60-22 victory Friday over Huntsville in Tiger Arena.
At A Glance
CRABTREE INVITATIONAL
at Bentonville
Thursday
Game 1 Bentonville West 65, Webb City, Mo. 61
Game 2 Bentonville High 64, Huntsville 20
Game 3
Friday
Game 4 Springdale Har-Ber 60, Huntsville 22
Game 5 Bentonville High 66, Webb City, Mo. 41
Game 6 Clarksville 44, Bentonville West 37
Today
Game 7 Springdale Har-Ber vs. Webb City, Mo., 12:30 p.m.
Game 8 Bentonville West vs. Huntsville, 2 p.m.
Game 9 Bentonville High vs. Clarksville, 4 p.m.
"It's a lot different," Jenkins said. "We have a whole different crew and a really, really young crew, but I feel like we've made progress in our program. We spent a lot of time in the spring and summer with these kids and have them grow up pretty fast.
"The kids have bought into what we are doing at Har-Ber and our feeder schools as well. It's a good feeling to know where we are right now compared to last year and hopefully where we will be in another year."
There is one thing that hasn't changed for Har-Ber (7-2) -- the ability for Caylan Koons to score a lot of points and do it in bunches. The sophomore guard scored 19 of her 25 points in the first half as the Lady Wildcats built a 35-16 cushion.
Coons hit three straight buckets to spark an 11-0 run to end the first quarter and give Har-Ber a 13-2 lead. A bucket by Paige Bennett early in the second quarter dropped the Lady Wildcats' lead briefly single digits, but Har-Ber quickly answered with a bucket by Sophie Nelson and a 3-pointer by Coons and put the lead back into double digits for good.
"She gets on a roll there, and we have a good way of coming back and finding her," Wilson said of Coons, who has 46 points in the last two games. "She gets that rhythm going, and she'll pop about three or four shots off real quick.
"She just gets into that rhythm. She's playing so hard and attacking the basket that she reels them off really fast, in the transition and in the half-court game as well."
Nelson added 12 points and freshman Pacious McDaniel chipped in 10 for Har-Ber, which completed the win with a 18-0 run through the fourth quarter and forced the sportsmanship rule into play. Kendra Poor and Bennett led Huntsville (1-7) with six points apiece.
Har-Ber^13^22^7^18^--^60
Huntsville^2^14^6^0^--^22
Har-Ber (7-2): Coons 25, Nelson 12, McDaniel 10, Andrew 5, Stubbs 2, Martfeld 2, Starks 2, McClure 2.
Huntsville (1-7): Poor 6, Bennett 6, Mayes 3, Sisk 3, Maupin 2, Howerton 2.
Bentonville High 66, Webb City, Mo. 41
Maryam Dauda scored 18 of her game-high 22 points in the first half as Bentonville also won its second game in as many nights.
Dauda, a 6-foot-4 junior, had eight points in a 12-0 run Bentonville (4-0) put together after Webb City hit the game's first bucket. The Lady Cardinals kept things close early as Sierra Kimbrough's bucket made it a 17-14 game with 5:36 before halftime, but Bentonville countered with 14 of the next 17 points for a 31-18 halftime cushion.
Dauda was the only Lady Tiger to finish in double figures, while Kimbrough had 17 and Jaydee Duda added 10 for Webb City.
Clarksville 44, Bentonville West 37
Autumn Miller and Kenleigh Rieder each hit a 3-pointer in the closing minute of the third quarter as Clarksville took the lead for good and went on to defeat West.
The 3-pointers allowed the Lady Panthers to enter the fourth quarter with a 37-31 lead, and Clarksville made it stand by holding West (2-4) without a field goal until Marybeth Dyson hit one with 50 seconds remaining.
Emmaline Rieder had 13 points to lead three Lady Panthers in double figures, followed by Kenleigh Rieder with 12 and Miller with 11. Maysa Willis was the only Lady Wolverine in double figures with 15.
Preps Sports on 12/14/2019