Bentonville's offense clicks in route of Clarksville

BENTONVILLE -- The Crabtree Invitational allowed its participating teams an opportunity to play and see how they could do with the new experimental 35-second shot clock. It didn't affect Bentonville High's girls at all Friday night. The Lady Tigers hit 10 of 14 shots in the first quarter, including a trio of 3-pointers, and cruised to a 68-38 victory over Clarksville in Tiger Arena. "It was a good win for us on our home floor," Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said. "They started out in sync with one another and in tune, and I was pleased with their overall performance of all kids." Halbmaier said this could be his most balanced team, and the scoring summary was proof of that. Four players finished in double figures for Bentonville (5-0), and each of its starters had already scored at least two points when Natalie Smith's bucket gave the Lady Tigers a 15-7 cushion with 4 minutes, 37 seconds left in the first quarter. Maryam Dauda, the 6-foot-4 sophomore, finished with 16 points to lead Bentonville, while senior guard Avery Hughes added 13. Emily Sanders and Riley Hayes each contributed 10 points, and Smith just missed out of double digits as she had nine. "It's not just balanced from players one through five," Halbmaier said. "It's balanced from players 1 to 13. Everybody has the ability to score and everybody has the ability to contribute. It's just a matter of trying to find that right combination at certain times of the game so we can continue the flow." Bentonville's hot shooting led to a 25-12 cushion after one quarter, but Clarksville (8-3) used 3-pointers by Autumn Miller and Alysa Cummins to pull within 25-18 with 6:24 before halftime. The Lady Tigers, however, scored the next seven points -- five by Hayes -- and pushed their lead back to double digits for good. Bentonville had a 39-23 halftime lead after Smith grabbed a pass from Kadie Kultgen at midcourt with 1.8 seconds on the clock and buried a long 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded. The Lady Tigers' defense then took over in the second half as they allowed Clarksville only 15 points in the second half. "We knew Bentonville was a good team," Clarksville coach Randy Talley said. "The things they do well -- spread out in their zone defense and match up with you -- and their length bothers you. You get around them and you have the wall (Dauda) waiting for you. "They spread out that defense and make things hard for you, then they shoot the ball so well. You have to hope you catch them on an off night when they don't shoot well. I saw some good things early and shrunk the lead a little bit in the second quarter, but we run out of legs." In other action Friday, Springdale Har-Ber rallied to take a 52-51 win over Webb City, Mo., as Caylam Koons had 18 points, including a 3-pointer that gave the Lady Wildcats (5-5) a 49-47 lead with 2:37 remaining. Bentonville West then hung on for a 46-45 victory over Huntsville as Kelsie Mahone had 13 points to lead the Lady Wolverines.

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Bentonville High School Athletics

BENTONVILLE'S OFFENSE CLICKS IN ROUTE OF CLARKSVILLE

HENRY APPLE

Arkansas Online | 12/9/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Bentonville Athletics