BENTONVILLE -- It was hard for Tom Halbmaier to find anything Bentonville High's girls did wrong during the first quarter of Tuesday's game against Van Buren.
The Lady Tigers dominated the opening 8 minutes and built a 27-11 lead, then continued to pour on the offense en route to a 73-36 victory during 6A-West Conference action in Tiger Arena.
"I think the girls came out focused," Halbmaier said. "We came out flat last Friday and weren't zoned in. They were laser-focused.
"They shot the ball, but I was really pleased with the defensive side of the ball. There were a couple of times when we had some miscommunication on the screens, but we gave up no offensive rebounds. Transition-wise, we came out and ran the floor."
Van Buren (10-12, 3-6) managed to keep things close through the first 3 1/2 minutes, hitting a trio of 3-pointers to stay within 11-9. Bella Irlenborn then completed a three-point play to spark a 16-2 run as Bentonville (19-3, 8-1) pulled out to a 27-11 lead before the quarter ended.
The Lady Tigers then closed out the first half with a 10-2 spurt and claimed a 44-19 halftime cushion. Bentonville then led 60-32 after three quarters and finally forced the running clock when Heidi Baum's 3-pointer made it a 66-34 game with 4 minutes remaining.
Avery Hughes had 13 of her game-high 16 points in the first half, while Natalie Smith had all 12 of her points in the first half and Maryam Dauda finished with 11 for Bentonville, which clinched a state tournament berth with the win. Brooklyn Kannaday led Van Buren with 14.
"That was one of our goals -- to get to the state tournament," Halbmaier said. "We just have to continue to keep working hard and getting better. We just need to be sure everybody stays humble and get the minutes they deserve."
Van Buren 11 8 13 4 -- 36
Bentonville 27 17 16 13 -- 73
Van Buren (10-12, 3-6): Kannady 14, Evans 7, Greebe 6, Rainwater 4, Schnakenberg 3, Ryan 2.
Bentonville (19-3, 8-1): Hughes 16, Smith 12, Dauda 11, Hayes 8, Baum 7, Irlenborn 6, Kultgen 5, Sanders 4, Andrus 3, Johnston 1.
Fayetteville 65, Rogers High 41
Fayetteville outscored Rogers 21-6 in the third quarter to pull away for the victory.
Freshman Haitiana Releford scored 12 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs (16-2, 9-0). It was the first game back for Releford after missing three games because of a concussion.
"We were so anxious to get her back because she's our third scorer," Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer said. "She was hungry to get back out there, and it showed."
Courtney Storey had 14 to lead Rogers (13-8, 5-4).
The game was tied 18-18 before Fayetteville began to take control with Sasha Goforth on the bench in the second quarter with two fouls. Fayetteville made four 3-pointers in the second quarter, including two from sophomore Allison Byars. Junior Emmie Bailey and sophomore Claudia Bridges also contributed 3-pointers to give Fayetteville a 27-22 lead at halftime.
Fayetteville continued its momentum into the third quarter and led 37-25 after a bank shot from Arianna Saitta.
Rogers 12 10 6 13 -- 41
Fayetteville 9 18 21 17 -- 65
Rogers (13-8, 5-4): Storey 14, Figenskau 6, Treadwell 6, Grimes 5, Brockhoff 3, Cates 2, McConnell 3, Covington 2.
Fayetteville (16-2, 9-0): Releford 12, Byars 10, Goforth 10, Beck 8, Bridges 6, Bailey 6, Saitta 4, Templeton 4, Ritter 3, Williams 2.
Springdale Har-Ber 43, Rogers Heritage 39
Freshman Kaylan Coons scored six points in a matter of seconds to give the Lady Wildcats the lead late in the fourth quarter and held on for the 6A-West Conference win Tuesday at War Eagle Arena.
Springdale Har-Ber (9-13, 2-7 6A-West) trailed most of the second half, but Koons hit a 3-pointer, then got a steal, layup and ensuing free throw for a 40-38 advantage with 2:40 left. That was Har-Ber's first lead since in the first quarter.
The Lady Wildcats led only by two with 18.5 seconds left but executed a nice set play to get a layup from Sophie Nelson to push the lead to four with under 10 seconds left.
Har-Ber coach Kimberly Jenkins was pleased with her team's contributions from several different players, especially since the Lady Wildcats played without sophomore point guard Kania Starks, who was diagnosed with the flu earlier in the day.
"We really missed Kania not having the ball-handler and that second-leading scorer against their pressure," Jenkins said. "But it was a great team win. We've gotta have somebody that makes baskets, but for us it's about battling and fighting every possession."
Koons poured in a game-high 25 points, including four 3-pointers. She was the only player in double figures for Har-Ber.
Pam Seiler led Heritage (5-16, 1-8) with 11, but all of those points came in the first half.
Har-Ber 13 10 7 13 -- 43
Heritage 16 8 10 5 -- 39
Springdale Har-Ber (9-13, 2-7): Koons 25, Nelson 8, Karu 5, Carter 2, Hambleton 2, Joyner 1.
Rogers Heritage (5-16, 1-8): Seiler 11, Knight 8, Dickerson 8, Lynge 4, Jones 4, Brooks 2, Pabon 2.
Springdale High 52, Bentonville West 42
Senior Marquesha Davis put on an offensive show Tuesday night, scoring 26 or her game-high 39 points in the second half and leading the Springdale girls to a 6A-West Conference victory over Bentonville West.
The win halted a four-game winless streak for the Lady Bulldogs (12-8, 5-4).
"I'm always proud of our whole team, the way we share the ball and work together," Springdale coach Heather Hunsucker said. "Marquesha has really been focused on improving her game on both ends of the court, she's had some really good days, and I think you're seeing that."
Davis, a University of Arkansas signee, scored all of Lady Bulldogs' first-quarter points as they jumped out to an 11-6 lead.
"I just try to go out there and be a good leader and help us get going," Davis said. "My teammates kept getting me the ball and finding me open, so I have to give them a lot of the credit."
West's Anna Kash scored nine of her team-high 23 in the second quarter, as the Lady Wolverines (8-13, 3-6) outscored Springdale 14-6 to take a 20-17 lead into the half.
Davis hit back-to-back shots, including a driving floater to knot the score at 27-27 with 1:42 to play in the third quarter. After West's Shania Wilson scored to halt the streak, Davis ended the quarter on a personal 7-0 run to put the Lady Bulldogs up 34-30.
"We are fortunate to have some experienced seniors on the floor, especially down the stretch," Hunsucker added. "They understand the importance getting things done in the fourth quarter. You have to grab rebounds, you have to make free throws, and you have to take care of the ball. So, I credit a lot of that to our kids' game experience."
Bentonville West 6 14 12 10 -- 42
Springdale 11 6 17 18 -- 52
West (8-13, 3-6): Kash 23, Wilson 8, Mahone 7, Wood 2, Curtis 2.
Springdale (12-8, 5-4): Davis 39, Sysavanh 6, Gause 3, Pegue 2, Minchew 2.
Preps Sports on 02/06/2019