THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Bentonville High School Athletics

With the height advantage Maryam Dauda enjoys over a majority of high school basketball players, she could have easily stationed herself near the basket and elected to score the easy points. Bentonville High's 6-foot-4 junior post, however, viewed things a little differently. If the Lady Tigers were going to make a return trip to the Class 6A state championship game, Dauda knew there was more for her to do than just pick up points in the paint. Her improvements to all facets of her game this season made Dauda the choice as the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's player of the year for its Division I team, which consists of players from Class 6A and 5A schools. "I was able to have a great season by working and playing hard," Dauda said. "Coming into the season, I wanted to be a more efficient offensive player and have a huge impact on this team. "I also wanted to be the leader this team needed, so I spent a lot of time in the gym. I also concentrated on being more vocal on the floor and helping out my teammates when I could." Dauda's height gives her an edge as far as rebounds and blocked shots are concerned, but those numbers actually fell this season as she averaged 7.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. She made up for it on the offensive end, where she raised her scoring average to 16.6 points per game -- more than 4 points per game than she averaged last year. Her scoring included a respectable 20 of 48 shooting (41.7 percent) from 3-point range -- compared to 0 for 8 from beyond the arc a season ago -- and she hit an impressive 92 of 114 (80.7 percent) from the free-throw line. Dauda also set two school single-game records when she hit 14 field goals and scored 36 points in a Bentonville victory over Conway in December. What makes Dauda's accomplishments stand out more is she only averaged 21.4 minutes -- slightly more than 2 1/2 quarters -- per game. "I was really impressed with her free-throw shooting, and she had the ability to knock down some timely free throws," Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said. "That gave her the sense that her overall game had improved, and a lot of the 3-pointers she hit were in transition. She would get down the floor, then go wide and spot-up so she could be ready to shoot. "And you look at the games we've played, there were only seven games where Maryam played all four quarters. She had that ability to raise her game in those close games, and she stayed out of foul trouble. She did a great job of not picking up that third and fourth foul in the first half." Dauda had already rewritten every blocked shot category in Bentonville's record book in her freshman year, but she reached a couple of milestones this year. She scored her 1,000th career point in a victory during a victory at home against Fayetteville, and she became the school's career leader in rebounds during the Lady Tigers' victory over Conway in the Class 6A State Tournament semifinals. "Getting my 1,000th point against Fayetteville will be something to remember," Dauda said. "Because I was able to do it in my junior year, that makes it feel really good."

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Bentonville High School Athletics

ALL-NWADG BASKETBALL: BENTONVILLE'S DAUDA TOWERS TO TOP GIRLS PLAYER

HENRY APPLE

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 3/28/2020

PHOTO CREDIT: David Beach