BENTONVILLE -- Tom Halbmaier knows Bentonville's girls prefer to take their chances from the perimeter.
But with the game on the line Thursday night, the Lady Tigers chose to do their damage from the free-throw line. Free throws accounted for Bentonville's last eight points, and that was enough for the Lady Tigers to take a come-from-behind 64-60 victory over Gilbert (Ariz.) Perry at the Hoophall South Classic in Tiger Arena.
"You don't have to tell them a whole lot -- just take care of the basketball and get stops," Halbmaier said. "We were in the bonus, and I said they were going to come after us. We just had to be aggressive.
"We weren't going to settle for a lot of treys in the fourth quarter, even though we are a three-point shooting team. We just wanted to make sure we took care of the basketball and make sure that when we attacked the basket, we got some contact, try to get some calls and get to the free-throw line."
Sam Rhuda hit two free throws with 1 minute, 33 seconds remaining to give Bentonville a 61-60 lead, and Abbey Kate Sanders added another one to make it a two-point game at the 1:06 mark.
Perry (8-2) missed two chances to tie the game when Lauren Crocker, a 6-4 senior, missed the front end of a 1-and-1 attempt, then Khamil Pierre hit one of two free throws with 41 seconds on the clock.
The Lady Tigers picked up another Rhuda free throw with 36.1 seconds left to make it 62-60, then Sanders hit two more with 5.8 seconds left to seal the win.
"That's one of the things with having a shot clock," Halbmaier said. "In the last two minutes, we wanted to milk it down to below 10. At that point, it's a matter of what philosophy they have. We were fortunate enough to get to the rim, get some contact and get some free throws. They hit the free throws, too, so that was big down the stretch."
Bentonville never led until the fourth quarter and trailed 44-33 after a Crocker bucket with 5:01 left in the third quarter. The Lady Tigers pulled within 53-49 to end the third quarter, then took a 54-53 lead on a bucket by Rhuda and a three-pointer by Ella Campbell with 6:41 remaining.
Campbell had 21 to lead Bentonville, which will play Bentonville West in its 6A-West Conference opener Saturday afternoon, followed by Rhuda with 19 and Sanders with 12. Pierre led Perry with 21 while Crocker added 10.
Boys
LR Central 69, Hickory (N.C.) Moravian Prep 67
Savaughn Smith connected from just inside the three-point line with 1.6 seconds remaining as Central rallied to defeat Moravian Prep in the first boys game.
The Tigers (10-2) trailed 40-30 at halftime but pulled within 54-50 to start the fourth quarter and tied the game at 64 with under two minutes remaining. Gavin Snyder's three-pointer gave Central a brief 67-65 lead with 1:03 remaining, but Michael Ojo's bucket tied the game with 32 seconds left before Smith hit his shot from the right wing.
Snyder finished with 20 points for Central, which plays Chicago Simeon Career Academy at 4 p.m. today, followed by Annor Boateng with 17 and Luke Moore with 10.
Jordan Marsh had 20 for Moravian Prep (8-2), while Isaac Ellis added 13.
Chicago Whitney Young 64, Fayetteville 49
Whitney Young built a 27-20 halftime lead and pulled away from Fayetteville in the second half to win Thursday's final game.
Daniel Johnson had 26 points for the Dolphins (7-4), who outscored the Bulldogs 19-11 in the third quarter and extended their lead to a 46-31 margin. Dalen Davis added 18 points and Antonio Munoz 12 for Whitney Young.
Ornette Gaines had 16 points and was the only player in double figures for Fayetteville (7-2), which travels to Conway for the John Stanton Classic and plays Bryant at 4 p.m. today and Conway at 2 p.m. Saturday.